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Famous Americans' Series 
FOUR GREAT 

American Presidents, No. i 

WASHINGTON,' JEFFERSON, JACKSON, 
LINCOLN 

A BOOK FOR AMERICAN READERS 

BY 

MISS FRANCES M. PERRY 

Author of " Four Great Americati Pioneers," " Four Great Atnerican 
Inventors," etc., etc. 

AND 

HENRY W. ELSON 

Author of " Side Lights on American History," " A History 
of the United States," etc., etc. 



J. M. STRADLING & COIV^PANY 

PUBLISHERS 

NEW YORK 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

M.AH 15 1907 

A Cooyright Entry 

^uss A xxc, No. 

COFV B. 



• I 
.T4-T 



Copyright, 1905, 
By J. M. STRADLING & COMPANY. 



CONTENTS. 



The Story of the Father of His Country. 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

PAGE 

I. Boyhood Days 9 

II. Washington's Youth 19 

III. Winning His Spurs 29 

IV. Washington's First Command 39 

V. Washington with General Braddock 47 

VI. Days of Peace 60 

VII. Indignation 68 

VIII. Rebellion 76 

IX. The Struggle for Independence 85 

X. The President 100 

3 



CONTENTS. 



The Story of the Author of the Declaration of Independence. 
THOMAS JEFFERSON. 



PAGE 



I. Celebrating His Twenty-first Birthday in 

II. College Days 120 

III. Practising Law . 129 

IV. The Declaration of Independence 136 

V. Serving Virginia 146 

VI. Minister to France 158 

VII. At Home Once More i73 

VIII. The President 184 

IX. The Sage of Monticello 197 

4 



CONTENTS. 

The Story of "Old Hickory.' 
ANDREW JACKSON. 



PAGE 



I. Birth and Boyhood of Andrew Jackson 211 

II. Jackson in the Revoi^ution 214 

III. Journey to the Far West 221 

IV. Wild Life in Tennessee 224 

V. Jackson in Congress 229 

VI. Jackson Becomes a Judge 2^2 

VII. "Old Hickory" 2t,7 

VIII. Fighting Indians 242 

IX. More Indian Fighting 245 

X. A Major General 250 

XI. Battle of New Orleans 254 

XII. Echoes from the Battle . 259 

XIII. Jackson Becomes President 264 

XIV. Jackson as President 269 

XV. Jackson's Old Age 273 

5 



CONTENTS. 



The Story of the Martyred President. 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



PAGE 



I. An Unpromising Start in Life 281 

II. The Indiana Home 287 

III. Rough Schooling 295 

IV. Of Age 304 

V. A Politician 316 

VI. A Lawyer -325 

VII. Political Success 334 

VIII. A Leader 342 

IX. The President 351 

6 



A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



OF 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 




GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



The Story of the Father of His Country. 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

By miss FRANCES M. PERRY. 



CHAPTER I. 
BOYHOOD DAYS. 



We like to call George Washington the father 
of our country. This title must not make us 
think of him as connected with the early settle- 
ment of America. Fifty years had passed since 
the settlement of Jamestown, and Y'^ginia was 
already a flourishing colony ^Iwh-^^ George 
Washington's great-grandfather" Crossed the 
sea to make his home on the western side of 
the Atlantic. 

He bought an extensive tract of fertile land, 
lying between the Potomac and the Rappahan- 
nock rivers. He cleared the forest, ploughed 
the ground, and cultivated acres of the broad- 
leaved tobacco, to be shipped to the home 



lO GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

country, where it was in great demand and 
brought a good price. 

On this estate, in a house built near Bridge's 
Creek, his children and his children's children 
were born and grew to manhood ; and here, as 
every schoolboy knows, on February 22, 1732, 
George Washington was born. 

So, even though the country was still young 
and undeveloped, Washington enjoyed some 
of those advantages that we usually think of as 
belonging only to citizens of older countries. 
His people were known and respected far and 
near: and many important planters in that part 
of the colony were related to his family by ties 
of blood or marriage. 

Though the Washingtons had prospered, they 
lived very simply. The old-fashioned wooden 
farmhouse in which George Washington was 
born had four rooms on the ground-floor. The 
roof came down almost to the tops of the doors 
and windows, in front and rear. 

At the high-gabled ends of the building were 
great brick chimneys. The old house was un- 
pretentious, even for that period, but it was dear 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. II 

to the Washington family, for every room in 
the house, every tree in the garden, had con- 
nected with it some oft-repeated story in which 
a favorite aunt, uncle, or cousin figured promi- 
nently. 

When little George was about three years 
old, his father, Augustine Washington, moved 
from their plantation, on Bridge's Creek, to a 
large estate on the Rappahannock, near the 
village of Fredericksburg, and it was not until 
he was eleven years of age that he went back 
to the home of his ancestors to live once more. 

Augustine Washington was married twice, 
and George was the first child of his second 
marriage. George's two half-brothers, Law- 
rence and Augustine, were well-grown youths 
when he was born. They took great delight in 
their little brother, and his younger brothers 
and sisters never displaced George in their 
affections. 

They were well-bred, manly boys, and George 
felt great love and admiration for them. As 
soon as he was old enough, George was sent to 
school to one of his father's tenants. This 



GEORGE WASHINGTON, 



man was named Hobby. He combined with 
the affairs of schoolmaster that of sexton. He 
was a man of but little learning. 

Still, people were glad to have him teach their 
children how to read and write and work out 
problems in arithmetic, for the little ones were 
in a fair way to grow up ignorant of even these 
elementary branches of knowledge. Most of 
the men who were well educated were in de- 
mand for other work, and capable schoolmasters 
were rare in the new country. 

It would not seem strange if George Wash- 
ington had cared very little for books and the 
work of the schoolroom when he was a small 
boy; for his schoolmasters were the men he 
associated with learning, and they were not the 
sort of men that he cared to resemble. His 
father and the men who seemed to him impor- 
tant he saw more often in the saddle, booted 
and spurred, than reading books and writing 
letters. 

Then, too, books and letters and papers were 
all so rare in that part of the world when he 
was a boy that they could not seem to him to 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 1 3 

be an important element in life. Besides, he 
was strong and full of energy and spirit, and 
liked much better to be playing ball or racing 
over the fields on some half-tamed horse than 
sitting at a desk writing. 

But however much he disliked school, he 
worked faithfully and well at his school tasks. 
He probably would have done so in any cir- 
cumstance, for he had a great deal of self-con- 
trol and believed his elders required of him 
what was for his good. But he had one strong 
incentive to study that we must not forget. 

In those days the colonists regarded England 
as the source of nearly all things desirable. 
From England came the great sailing ships that 
brought the spinet, the high mahogany dresser, 
the brass andirons, the tall clock, the brocade 
gowns, the satin breeches, the silk stockings, the 
china and silver-ware for the table, the loaves of 
fine white sugar, the coffee and tea, the carriages 
and harness, the saddles, whips, pistols and 
swords — all to be exchanged for bales of 
tobacco. 

It was from England that the Virginia matron 



14 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

procured the fashions for furnishing her house, 
dressing her hair, and making puddings. It 
was of the English king and EngHsh statesmen 
and English writers that Virginia gentlemen 
talked, and it was to the English universities 
that the well-to-do Virginia planters sent their 
sons. 

When George Washington was a little boy, 
his brother Lawrence was being educated in 
England. His letters were watched for eagerly, 
read many times, and discussed with the utmost 
interest and no small amount of pride by family 
and friends. When George was eight years old 
Lawrence came home. 

Tall and handsome, dignified and courteous 
with his talk of far-away places and interesting 
people, it is not strange that the elder brother 
appeared to the younger the very pattern of a 
gentleman. To be like that one day would be 
reward enough for hours of adding long col- 
umns of figures and laboriously copying rules 
of deportment and right conduct. 

The strong influence of Lawrence Washing- 
ton on the life of his younger brother was not 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 15 

lessened by his again leaving home. This time 
he went to war. He had been made captain of 
a company of Virginia soldiers, and, under 
Admiral Vernon, acquitted himself gallantly in 
the campaign against the Spaniards in the West 
Indies. 

This made him more a hero than ever in the 
eyes of nine-year-old George, who spent his 
time acting as captain of a company of school- 
boys, drilling them or leading violent charges 
against imaginary Spaniards. After an absence 
of two years the gallant young captain came 
home. Preparations were being made for his 
marriage with the eldest daughter of the honor- 
able William Fairfax. His marriage was post- 
poned, however, by the death of his father. 
j Augustine Washington had been a man of 
affairs. Besides large farms, well equipped and 
stocked with valuable cattle, besides chattels and 
slaves, he left to his sons important interests in 
I the largest iron works in Virginia. 

His fortune was not divided equally among 
his children, for in those days it was thought 
very undesirable to break up a family estate. 



l6 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

and, however much the younger children might 
be loved, it was usually the first-born who on 
the death of the father took the place at the head 
of the family and inherited the largest part of 
the property. 

Accordingly, Lawrence Washington received 
the lion's share of his father's property, a beauti- 
ful estate on the Potomac. But his younger 
brothers were not left portionless. To the 
namesake and second son, Augustine, was willed 
the old Bridge's Creek homestead. George 
was to have the farm on the Rappahannock. 

Mrs. Washinerton was entrusted with the care 
of her own children and their property till they 
should become of age. Lawrence and Augus- 
tine soon married and took possession of their 
estates. Mrs. Washington was a practical busi- 
ness-like woman. 

She saw that with her limited income and 
large family she could not give her sons the 
educational advantages their half-brothers had 
enjoyed. George, the eldest must speedily be 
trained for some occupation which would enable 
him to better his fortune. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 1 7 

There was a good school now in the Bridge's 
Creek neighborhood, so, at the age of eleven, 
George went back to his birthplace to live 
with his brother Augustine. He attended 
Mr. Williams' school and worked diligently 
to acquire business methods. 

He took pains to write a good hand, to master 
arithmetic, and to learn, by careful and frequent 
copying, business forms, deeds, bills of lading, 
and book-keeping. He tried always to be 
accurate and thorough in his work. He pre- 
ferred action to study, however, and the sober 
pains-taking student became an enthusiastic 
athlete when school hours were over; to work 
and to sport, in turn, he gave whole-hearted 
attention. 

The result was that he was relied upon by 
young and old. His comrades pinned their 
faith in him in contests in running, swimming, 
or strength of arm. His elders knew he could 
be counted upon to execute faithfully the most 
difficult undertakings. 

This very practical boy was not without his 
dreams. He wanted to go to sea. His father 



1 8 GEORGE WASHINGTON, 

had been a good seaman and had commanded 
a ship. His brother Lawrence had been a naval 
officer in the expedition under Admiral Vernon. 
The boy's idea was not to escape the monotony 
of school and to seek adventure. He looked 
upon the navy as the open door to a military 
life and he was willing to undergo some hard 
experience as a sailor in order to fit himself for 
naval service. 

So strong was his desire that he succeeded 
in persuading others of the wisdom of his plan. 
And when he was fourteen some steps were 
taken to secure for him a place on a sailing 
vessel. Fortunately, some of his relatives 
interfered at the last moment, and the would-be 
sailor went back to school for two years more. 
Though disappointed he threw himself into his 
work with characteristic zeal, giving special 
attention now to surveying. 



CHAPTER II. 
WASHINGTON'S YOUTH. 

When vacation came George Washington 
was always ready for a ride across-country to 
make his brother Lawrence a visit. After his 
marriage the latter had built a fine house on his 
estate. He called the place Mount Vernon, in 
honor of his former naval commander and 
friend. 

The young man was well liked by his neigh- 
bors, so they elected him to represent them in 
the House of Burgesses. His home was an 
attractive place, and frequently friends or trav- 
eling strangers tested the hospitality of the 
master and mistress. 

George Washington was always sure of a 
warm welcome and delightful entertainment at 
Mount Vernon. He was fond of the society 
of older men. He enjoyed listening to their 
discussions of business and politics, their talk 

19 



20 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



of the development of western lands, of colonies, 
of old England, of universities, of courts and 
camps. The guests at his brother's table were 
usually men of experience, and their lively talk 
had in it much to interest and inform a wide- 
awake youth. 

The boy himself at first took small part in 
these discussions, but when he answered a 
question or ventured a comment it showed so 
much sense that it received flattering considera- 
tion. Though reticent, George Washington 
was by no means bashful. He had too true a 
sense of relative values to underestimate his 
own worth, and always had a large measure of 
self-respect. 

His fondness for the society of older men 
was encouraged by Lawrence Washington and 
his friends. All liked the tall, thoughtful boy, 
whose calm gray eyes looked straight at one 
when he talked, who was always ready but 
never in a hurry. He made a good companion^ 
and did not seem in the way when the conversa- 
tion was such that he did not understand and 
to which he could not contribute. 



WASHINGTON'S YOUTH. 21 



He was an appreciative listener and could 
ask sensible questions, and when it came to the 
hunt he was as good a rider as any : fearless 
and enduring, he attracted attention by his 
splendid horsemanship. Lord Fairfax, the 
brother of Lawrence Washington's father-in- 
I law, was especially pleased with the youth. 
Lord Fairfax had spent most of his life in 
England, and had been a man of fashion as 
well as a man of affairs. 

He had written for the Spectator, and was as 
clever in speech as in print. He had not been 
in America longf enouofh to lose his interest in 
England nor to be fully acquainted with colonial 
life. 

Among the people he had met in the new 
world, few listened with interest so untiring and 
who was so keen to talk of his past life as this 
brother of Lawrence Washington. His pleasure 
in young Washington's society did not consist 
solely in the satisfaction one takes in giving 
information and pleasure to one eager to learn. 

For, while he had found many who could 
discourse at length on Virginia and America, 



22 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

he had found few who could tell him exactly 
what he wanted to know about Fairfax County 
or Virginia manners and customs so accurately 
and in so few words as this clear-headed boy. 
In spite of the difference in their ages, a strong 
friendship sprang up between the two. 

At Mount Vernon and at Belvoir, the Fairfax 
estate, George Washington came in contact with 
the best people in the colony : men and women 
whose rousrh, active life had not at all made 
them forget elaborate courtesy and stately 
manners. Living on the verge of the wilder- 
ness, they, so far as possible, lived in the style 
prevailing in ''merrie" England. 

A coach-and-six on Virginias undrained, 
ungraded roads, for state occasions ; yes, and 
gowns of stiff brocade, and powdered wigs, 
sparkling wines, and shining swords and duels, 
if need be ! Among such people the youth 
learned never to be careless in appearance, 
speech, or manner. With so much to recom- 
mend him and with so many influential friends, 
this younger brother had no difficulty in getting 
a start in business. 



WASHINGTON'S YOUTH. 23 

When he was sixteen years old he was en- 
trusted by Lord Fairfax with an important piece 
of work. Lord Fairfax had a vast estate in the 
wilderness beyond the mountains. He planned 
to build for himself a great mansion on this 
estate and go there to live. First, however, he 
wanted the land surveyed and a reliable map 
of it drawn. He knew of George Washington's 
interest in surveying, and asked him if he would 
be willing to undertake the survey of his land. 

The responsibility did not awe the inex- 
perienced boy. He readily consented, for a 
compensation of about a doubloon a day, to 
take charge of the survey. Early in March, 
before the snow was all melted in the deep 
mountain ravines, he started on the expedition, 
with the nephew of Lord Fairfax for company. 
The youths had good horses and set out for the 
wilderness in high spirits. 

They went first to his lordship's ''quarters," 
where the directors and the employes on the 
great estate lived. Then, with little luggage, 
and with assistants to carry chain and transit, 
axes, and other implements with which to do the 



24 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

heavy work of marking boundaries, Washing- 
ton and his friend commenced their journey 
through almost unexplored territory. Inns 
there were none ; so the surveying party had to 
depend on the hospitality of the few scattered 
settlers for lodging at night. 

The accommodations offered them were of 
the poorest, and after a single night's experience 
in sleeping in the close loft of a settler's cabin, 
with nothing but unclean straw for covering, 
the fastidious Washington chose to spend his 
nights wrapped in his cloak on the ground by 
the fire. 

At one time they fell in with a party of 
Indians. Washington had seen very little of 
the Indians, and his curiosity concerning them 
was keen. With presents he induced them to 
give a war dance for his benefit. He made 
careful notes in his diary concerning the sav- 
ages and also about the pioneers he met in 
his travels. 

The weather was unsettled. The bridgeless 
rivers and creeks were swollen ; roads were 
almost impassable where there was any pre- 



WASHINGTON'S YOUTH. 2 5 

tense of a road. But Washington had not 
expected a frolic. When the weather would 
permit he pushed the work of surveying with 
business-like rapidity. 

On stormy days he worked over his maps 
and reports. He had all his life ridden much 
going from his mothers home to his brother's, 
and he had, unconsciously almost, learned many 
important lessons about watersheds, natural 
drainage, forests, good soils, etc., and this 
knowledge enabled him to make valuable 
observations. 

When, early in April, he returned to Belvoir 
he gave a most satisfactory report of work done. 
Lord Fairfax was greatly pleased, and, it is sup- 
posed, used his influence to have Washington 
appointed public surveyor. At any rate, Wash- 
ington received the appointment, and was kept 
busy on the frontier with line and transit for 
three years. 

During those years he learned much about 
the country that was to be of service to him 
later. With wonted thrift he made note of 
desirable tracts of land that he or some friend 



26 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

of his should one day purchase. But more 
important than that, he acquired wood love and 
knowledge of the pioneers and the Indians on 
his various surveying expeditions that were to 
help him in time of need. 

His experience on the frontier made him 
strong and hardy but never coarsened him. 
He spent much of his leisure time at Mount 
Vernon with his brother, or with Lord Fairfax at 
Greenway Court. Lord Fairfax had built a com- 
fortable lodge on his estate and lived in simple 
plenty — farming, hunting, or reading at pleas- 
ure, and always glad to have young Washing- 
ton to share either business or pastime with 
him. 

Under his guidance, in the days spent at 
Greenway Court, Washington read a good deal 
of English history and became familiar with the 
essays of Addison and Steele. He must have 
enjoyed especially the Sir Roger de Coverly 
papers, since he could scarcely be blind to the 
points of similarity between that worthy char- 
acter and his generous but sometimes eccentric 
host. 



WASHINGTON'S YOUTH. 2/ 

While George Washington was growing into 
robust manhood, his brother Lawrence was fail- 
ing in health. The devotion of the brothers 
had strengthened with years. The younger now 
spent as much time as possible at Mount 
Vernon, and in his quiet, capable way took 
charge of much of the business of the estate, 
relieving Lawrence of care and responsibility 
wherever he could, till the latter came to look 
to his brother for advice and help as well as 
comradeship. 

When the doctors said a trip to the West 
Indies might prove beneficial to Lawrence, 
George, at his request, gave up his position as 
surveyor and went South with him. It was his 
first voyage, and the two men took great pleas- 
ure in the novel scenes and experiences. Un- 
fortunately, they accepted an invitation to dine 
at a house where one of the members of the 
family had small-pox. 

, They were aware of the danger, and George 
wrote in his journal that he accepted the invita- 
tion with some reluctance. Well he might, for 
in due time he was taken ill with the dreaded 



28 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

disease. After an illness of some three weeks 
he was, however, well and strong again. 

For a time it was hoped that Lawrence Wash- 
ington's health was decidedly benefited by the 
change. But the relief proved only temporary, 
and he died soon after his return to Mount 
Vernon. He showed his great love and trust 
in his half-brother by leaving to him the man- 
agement of the fortune of his wife and daughter, 
and by willing to him the greater part of that 
fortune provided he should outlive them. 



CHAPTER III. 
WINNING HIS SPURS. 

" I WAS commissioned and appointed by the 
Honorable Robert Dinwiddie, Esq., Governor 
of Virginia, to visit and deliver a letter to the 
commandant of the French forces of the Ohio, 
and set out on the intended journey the same 
day." Thus wrote George Washington in his 
journal, in the autumn of 1753. 

But what were the French forces doing on 
the Ohio ? Why was the Governor of Virginia 
sending them a letter ? And why was a youth 
of twenty-one selected to bear the governor's 
message ? 

The last question is the most easily answered. 
Because there was a youth of twenty-one able 
to do the work successfully and eager to do it. 
How George Washington came to be ready for 
an embassy that required a tried man, at an age 

when many youths are irresponsible college 

29 



30 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

''boys," we have in part seen, for his selection 
for this important mission shows to what good 
purpose he had put his early years of life. 

After the death of his brother Lawrence, 
though he took almost entire charge of the 
Mount Vernon estate, he had time to give to 
public affairs. Through the influence of his 
brother he had been appointed district adju- 
tant general, and had control of the organiza- 
tion and equipment of one-fourth of the militia 
of Virginia. Some of Captain Lawrence 
Washington's old comrades in arms were at 
hand to school the youthful major in military 
matters. 

That there was need of preparation for war, 
the Washingtons were among the first Vir- 
ginians to realize. Lawrence Washington had 
been president of the Ohio Company, w^hose 
purpose was to protect English trade and to 
further settlement in English land beyond the 
mountains. He had seen more clearly than 
most men that the French aimed at nothing 
less than absolute control of the trade with 
the Indians and possession of the western land. 



WINNING HIS SPURS. 3 1 

He knew what progress the bold French 
traders and missionaries had made in the West. 
He knew that the Indians were attracted by 
the gay, pleasure-loving French and repelled 
by the serious-faced, hard-working English ; 
and he felt that the defense of the extensive 
frontier against the combined strength of the 
French and Indians would be a difficult matter 

Governor Dinwiddie was also a member of 
the Ohio Company, and agreed with its presi- 
dent. So, when the French advanced to 
Presque Isle, on Lake Erie, while other gov- 
ernors were waiting for the action of colonial 
legislatures, the Virginia governor wrote to his 
majesty the king, explaining the situation, and 
received prompt directions to build forts if he 
could get the money, and if the French ad- 
vanced upon English territory to request them 
peaceably to depart, "or, if necessary, to drive 
them off by force of arms." 

The French w^ere not slow to justify the 
alarm Governor Dinwiddie had sounded. 
They were reported to have advanced to the 
headwaters of the Ohio and to be building 



32 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

forts there. First, the king's instructions said 
the French should be warned " peaceably to 
depart." The governor must find a brave and 
responsible messenger to carry that warning 
and to see how far the report was correct. 
This called for a man who could face danger 
without flinching. 

On the thirtieth day of October, 1753, he 
appointed George Washington to take the 
message. If he desired a prompt agent, young 
Washington promised to give satisfaction. No 
time was lost in elaborate preparation for the 
five-hundred-mile march through the wilder- 
ness. On the day he received his appointment 
Washington ''set out on his journey." 

He could not speak French, so he took with 
him as interpreter Captain Van Braam, who 
had taught him the use of sword and musket 
in more peaceful days at Mount Vernon. The 
first part of the journey was the easiest. The 
horses were fresh; the cabins of settlers and 
traders not infrequent; a road had been opened 
by the Ohio Company, and the party was 
encumbered with little luggage. Still, it was 



WINNING HIS SPURS. 33 

the middle of November before Washington 
made the last halt in Virginia. 

This was at Will's Creek, where the Ohio 
Company had established a store. When he 
left Will's Creek on the fifteenth of November 
his way lay over a winding Indian trail, along 
which his little band rode single file. At its 
head was Christopher Gist, a hardy woodman 
who had served the Ohio Company as surveyor 
along the Ohio River. 

He was a rugged man, well acquainted with 
the solitude of uninhabited mountains and 
plains, thoroughly at home with the red man, 
versed in their prejudices and weaknesses, 
and skilled in managing them. Washington 
found in him a faithful and invaluable guide. 
Over mountain ranges, through valleys, across 
streams, the trail wound. The days grew 
shorter as well as raw and cold. The rain 
fell ceaselessly, and the tired horses made 
slow progress on the slippery trail. 

Washington had not been a wilderness 
surveyor in vain, for, however hard the way, 
he was not exhausted and made no complaint. 



34 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

Still, even the stanch Washington was glad 
to see the smoke of a cabin chimney as he 
neared the place where Turtle Creek enters the 
Monongahela River. But Frazer, the inmate 
of that cabin, had no good news for the 
English. 

The French, he said, had driven him from 
his house at Venango and were building a fort 
there. Moreover, he had received a belt of 
wampum and a speech for the governor of 
Virginia, telling of strong Indian tribes which 
had joined the French cause. At Logstown 
Washington was met by some friendly Indi. ' 
who attached themselves to his company. c 
Venango, as he had expected, he found le 
French flag floating over the Frazer cabin. 

Here he and his men were received \ th 
great courtesy. But in the evening, as t ^y 
sat around the fire, liquor flowed freely, i id 
the French forgot their caution and gave le 
ever- watchful envoy a glimpse of their t le 
attitude toward the English. Washington e- 
scribed the experience as follows: ''The wive, 
as they dosed themselves pretty plentifully w th 



WINNING HIS SPURS. 35 

it, soon banished the restraint which at first ap- 
peared in their conversation, and gave a license 
to their tongues to reveal their sentiments more 
fully." ''They told me that it was their abso- 
lute design to take possession of the Ohio, and 
they would do it ; for that although they were 
sensible the English could raise two men to 
their one, yet they knew their motions were 
too slow and dilatory to prevent any under- 
taking of theirs." 

Four more days of travel brought the gov- 
ernor's messenger to Fort Le Boeuf, his jour- 
nev's end. While waiting for the commander's 
r y, Washington and his men were again 
ev Ttained with the utmost civility. It was 
no ^ the middle of December. Washington 
ha seen enough to make him feel sure that 
nc time was to be lost. Governor Dinwiddle 
m St know what the French were doing in 
th king's territory. 

^ut horses and men w^ere well-nigh ex- 
hc isted. Washington decided to try to make 
pc t of the journey in canoes. The streams 
w ;e winding and choked with ice, however, 



36 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

and that method of traveling took too much 
time to suit him. Therefore, leaving the rest 
of his party to follow at a slower pace, and 
not heeding remonstrances, he set out on foot, 
accompanied only by Gist. After a day in 
the saddle Washington was fresh and bright, 
but he was not used to walking and suffered 
greatly from fatigue. 

Near the Ohio an Indian offered his services 
as guide, with every appearance of friendliness. 
At the first opportunity he turned treacherously 
and fired on the travelers, but Washington 
and Gist were not the men to be taken una- 
wares. They not only escaped injury, but 
caught the Indian and wrested his gun from 
him. 

Gist would have shot the Indian on the spot, 
but Washington prevented him. Gist argued 
that if he were left alive he would follow 
them and repeat his attempt on their lives. 
Washington saw the danger, but he saw also 
that at this juncture the English must give the 
Indians no cause for complaint. He, therefore, 
insisted that the Indian should be allowed to 



* 



WINNING HIS SPURS. 37 

live, and by giving him a false idea of their 
plans succeeded in evading him. 

The journey home, though difficult and 
dangerous in the extreme, was at length safely 
accomplished. Washington reached Williams- 
burg on the 1 6th of January, and delivered 
to the governor the French commander's defiant 
reply to his letter. The French officer said, in 
part: "As to the summons you send me to 
retire, I do not think myself obliged to obey 
it. Whatever may be your instructions, I am 
here by virtue of the orders of my general ; and 
I entreat you, sir, not to doubt one moment but 
that I am determined to conform myself to them 
with all the exactness and resolution which can 
be expected from the best officer. I made it 
my particular care to receive Mr. Washington 
with a distinction suitable to your dignity, as 
well as to his own quality and great merit." 

The governor requested Washington to make 
a report of his journey to his Council, which 
met on the day after Washington's return. He 
had carefully ke^Dt a journal during his absence, 
and from that he hastily drew up a report. 



38 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

This report or journal was considered a 
most valuable document. It was published 
and distributed in America and London. It* 
was so accurate and frank an account of ex- 
isting conditions that it everywhere created 
great interest. 



CHAPTER IV. 
WASHINGTON'S HRST COMMAND. 

There was now no hope of peace. Troops 
must be sent to drive away the intruding French, 
and forts must be built on the disputed ground. 
Having executed so well the first trust com- 
mitted to him, it was but natural that Washing- 
ton should now be given a more responsible 
position. He was accordingly made lieutenant- 
colonel under Colonel P>y. 

This time, however, he could not start on the 
day he received his commission. Upon him 
devolved much of the burden of raising and 
organizing the Virginia troops. As almost no 
money was provided with which to pay the 
soldiers and provide them with clothing and 
ammunition, he found this a heavy task and 
one that required much time. 

He felt sure the French would make the 

39 



40 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

best of the delay, and with shame and anger 
he remembered how they had boasted that the 
French could beat twice their number of Eng- 
lish, because the English were so slow. 

He was impatient to be off and hurry out to 
Captain Trent, who had been sent in advance 
with a few men to seize and fortify a site Wash- 
ington had chosen as suitable for a fort, at the 
meeting of the Monongahela and Allegheny 
Rivers. Before the main body of the troops 
were ready he set out with several companies 
to prepare the way for the rapid advance of the 
troops when they should be ready to move. 

He and his handful of men had not gone far 
when he received word that he was too late to 
support Captain Trent. A large body of French 
had reached the headwaters of the Ohio and 
compelled the little band of English to retreat. 
The French were already at work building a 
large, strong fort at the point abandoned by 
the English. This famous fort was afterward 
known as Fort Du Ouesne. 

In spite of this discouraging news Washing- 
ton pressed on, clearing the way for Colonel 



WASHINGTON'S FIRST COMMAND. 4 1 

Fry. As he advanced the peril of his position 
increased. His friends were — he knew not how 
far — behind ; his foes — he knew not how close 
—before. For while an attack was scarcely to 
be feared from the French, their Indian allies 
could not be depended upon to wait for the 
English to open the war, and there was no tell- 
ing what measures the French themselves might 
take to provoke the English and bring about 
an engagement. 

Washington was therefore not surprised when 
a friendly Indian reported to him that a French 
scouting party was lurking about in the woods. 
The report was vague, however, and Washing- 
ton sent out spies to definitely learn the where- 
abouts of the enemy. They scoured the woods 
for several days before they found the French 
established in an almost inaccessible place. 

The night was black and the rain fell heavily, 
when Washington executed the first of those 
sudden and secret manoeuvres for which he was 
later noted. By a long and devious march over 
a steep and narrow pass he succeeded in taking 
the French off their guard. The French made 



42 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

a brave attempt to defend themselves, but after 
a sharp skirmish they were compelled to sur- 
render. Ten of their number were dead. 
Among the dead was the leader of the party, 
Ensign Cowlon de Jumonville. 

One Frenchman escaped in this encounter 
and speedily carried to his countrymen 
the news of the disaster. Measures were im- 
mediately taken to send a strong force against 
Washington and avenge what they called the 
murder of their brethren. Washington, rein- 
forced by troops from the rear and by the 
friendly Indians under Half-King, retired to 
Great Meadows to await the French. 

In the meantime Colonel Fry had died, and 
Washington had thus become first in command. 
He expected additional reinforcements and 
supplies. These did not come ; but he learned 
that the enemy had fared better, a strong detach- 
ment of French had arrived at Fort Du Quesne. 
He had not so much faith in the spade in war- 
fare as he came to have later. 

He wished for a good fight in a fair field, and 
the entrenchments he had thrown up at Fort 



WASHINGTON'S FIRST COMMAND. 43 

Necessity were but insignificant. On the 3d of 
July the French attacked the fort. Washington 
had hoped for a brisk and decisive action ; but 
he was disappointed. The French evidently 
proposed a siege. For this Washington was 
unprepared. Courage could not fill empty 
powder horns nor supply food for starving 
men. 

He was obliged to admit the impossibility of 
holding his position, and surrendered. He 
succeeded, however, in gaining surprisingly 
liberal terms. His troops were allowed to keep 
their arms and to march out with drums beating 
and flags flying. The young colonel, who be- 
came the wise and cautious general of the 
Revolution, had not well conducted this cam- 
paign. 

The impetuous young colonel had made mis- 
takes ; mistakes due to too great eagerness for 
action. His reckless courage had astonished 
and fairly intimidated the French. His Indian 
ally, old Half-King, had not been overawed by 
the Virginian. He said: ''The colonel was 
a good-natured man, but had no experience ; he 



44 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

took upon himself to command the Indians as 
if they were his slaves, and would have them 
every day upon the scout and to attack the 
enemy by themselves, but would by no means 
take advice from the Indians." 

*' He stayed in one place from one full moon 
to the other without fortifications, except that 
little thing on the meadows ; whereas, had he 
taken advice and built such fortifications as I 
advised here, he might easily have beat off the 
French. But the French acted like cowards, 
and the English like fools." 

We must remember, in reading this criticism 
of Washington, that Half-King had to offer 
some excuse for deserting the English before 
the battle, and that Washington probably had 
not taken Half-King into his confidence con- 
cerning his inability to endure a long siege and 
the needlessness of strong fortifications. 

The young man's fame had gone abroad in 
no enviable fashion. His hasty attack on the 
scouting party was bitterly condemned in 
France. It was claimed that Jumonville and 
his thirty followers were not scouts, but that 






WASHINGTON'S FIRST COMMAND. 45 

Jumonville was an ambassador bearing mes- 
sages from one government to another. 

They could not explain satisfactorily, however, 
why he should have brought with him thirty 
armed followers and should have remained for 
days hidden in the woods, within easy reach 
of the English, with whom it was claimed he 
wished to communicate. 

The English naturally felt no resentment to- 
ward Washington on that score, but they pro- 
nounced his name with a smile and called him 
a ''bragging upstart." This was because he 
had written his brother a letter after his first 
battle, in which the spirited youth showed an 
almost foolhardy relish for danger. 

He wrote : " I fortunately escaped without 
any wound, for the right wing, where I stood, 
was exposed to and received all the enemy's 
fire ; it was the part where the man was killed 
and the rest were wounded. I heard the bullets 
whistle; and, believe me, there is something 
charming in the sound." 

At home, where the great odds under which 
Washington had worked, and the failure of the 



46 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

government to send him support, were better 
understood ; men put a more just estimate on 
the campaign. The House of Burgesses gave 
him a vote of thanks for gallant and brave 
behavior in defense of his country. 



CHAPTER V. 
WITH BRADDOCK. 

Blood had been shed on both sides. War 
was unavoidable. Now the English king had 
need that the colonists should feel that they 
were British subjects and that it was their duty 
to help hold his land against the French. In- 
stead, however, of winning their loyalty, he did 
much to arouse the ill-will of his American 
subjects, so that the English and the Americans 
worked at cross-purposes much of the time. 

A plan degrading colonial officers to the rank 
of captains and making them subordinate to 
any officer holding the royal commission gave 
great offence to the colonial army officers. 
When Washington learned that henceforth he 
was to be colonel in name but not in authority 
he resigned his commission and wrote a letter 
to the governor of Virginia, declaring in very 
plain terms that, while he was eager^ to take^ 

47 



48 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

part in the war, he would not submit to this 
humiliation and masquerade under an empty 
military title. 

His personal interests had suffered somewhat 
while he was looking after colonial interests on 
the frontier. After the fatigue and the humilia- 
tion of the campaign he found it pleasant to be 
back at Mount Vernon, surrounded by admiring 
friends and willing servants, and to give his 
attention to the details of farm management. 

Order, prosperity, and stability were dear to 
him. He enjoyed being master of the situation 
and bringing Mount Vernon and his mother's 
estate into shipshape condition. He enjoyed 
the hunt, the stately dinner parties, the good 
talk, that helped make up life in the home on 
the Potomac. But more than all he loved the 
first of these — to be master of the situation, 
whatever that might be. 

And however worthy an occupation planting 
acres, and regulating the rations of slaves and 
the sale of crops, he was ready to relegate much 
of that to an overseer if there was more impor- 
tant work to be done. That there was impor- 



WITH BR ADD OCX. 49 

tant work to be done he was reminded on every 
hand. A great army was being equipped to go 
to the wilderness and conquer gloriously the 
enemy that was rejoicing over his defeat. 

Could he stand back and take no part in it ? 
Everywhere he heard war talked of. The 
transports, bearing the regular soldiers in their 
red uniforms, sailed up the Potomac beneath 
his very windows. As the Virginia ex-colonel 
rode about the country he met English officers 
and even the great General Braddock himself. 

Though inclined to treat the colonists with 
small respect, the British usually made an ex- 
ception of Washington. His strong face, his 
fearless, soldierly bearing, his fine horseman- 
ship, as well as his good horses, well-groomed 
attendants, and London-made clothes, helped 
to save him from the slurring epithet *' provin- 
cial " But his real dignity of character counted 
more than all 

He did not go about pouring into the ears of 
his friends his grievances, or seeking applause 
by making a parade of his knowledge of the 
West, or telling how he thought the expedition 



50 GEORGE WASHINGTON, 

against Fort Du Quesne should be conducted. 
Even at this early day he had learned the 
dignity and the power of silence. He made, 
however, no secret of the fact that he gladly 
would join the expedition if he could do so on 
such terms as would seem a proper recognition 
of his past honorable and able service. 

The chance soon offered. General Braddock 
invited him to join his staff. This position had 
the advantage of bringing him into close asso- 
ciation with a trained officer. Washington had 
learned in the campaign of 1754 the value of 
experience. He was glad General Braddock 
was an experienced soldier, and was ready to 
learn from him. 

He found much to learn. Used to the make- 
shift provisions of the colonial militia, the 
young aide looked with wonder at the elaborate 
equipment of this army. There was nothing 
wanting for battle : cannon, ammunition, arms, 
were abundantly supplied. But it was the 
great equipment for the march that astonished 
Washington. 

Army wagons and pack-horses were collected 



WITH BRADDOCK. 5 I 

from far and near to carry food for horses and 
men ; tents, axes and picks for opening the 
road ; personal baggage and most of the luxu- 
ries of civilized life for the officers. The 
regulars were in fine condition and made an 
excellent appearance. As Washington com- 
pared them with the Virginia backwoodsmen 
on the drill-ground he could not fail to note 
the superiority of the British. 

Their erect soldierly bearing, their smart 
uniforms, their instant response to the word of 
command, contrasted sharply with the slouching 
carriage and lagging response of the colonial 
volunteers. The great camp for twenty-two 
hundred men was a model of order. Rimd 
military discipline prevailed everywhere. 

Washington was impressed with the general's 
knowledge of the army code, with his extreme 
punctiliousness. The army had not been long 
on the march, however, before he began to 
realize that, so far as experience that would 
count, in the kind of warfare they had under- 
taken, went, he was the experienced officer and 
the despised colonials were the fit soldiers. 



52 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

A general who started into the wilderness in 
a ponderous coach drawn by six horses, who 
must '* bridge every brook and level every mole 
hill " for his army, had something to learn from 
the man who had walked every foot of the 
rugged path. A man who rashly led an army 
whose narrow line extended four miles along 
the narrow forest road, through dense thickets, 
without scouts, might well have listened to the 
advice of the officer who surprised the French 
before the battle of Great Meadow. 

But General Braddock was very confident of 
his own wisdom, and, though he liked the young 
Virginian and listened to him with more patience 
than he showed to others, he was but little 
impressed by Washington's sensible counsel. 
Still, even he could see that progress along the 
narrow, rough way with heavy baggage was 
too slow, and he at length acted upon Washing- 
ton's advice and divided the army, hastening 
forward with the less-encumbered part and 
leaving the rest under the commend of Colonel 
Dunbar, to follow more slowly with the baggage. 

At this stage of affairs Washington was seized 



WITH BR AD DOCK. 53 

with a fever. He was too ill to travel, but he 
could not be reconciled to the idea of gfivine 
up the battle. With real affection and concern 
General Braddock insisted on his staying behind 
with the proper attendants, and assured him 
that if his strength permitted he should rejoin 
the army before the battle. 

Washington had made a warm place for him- 
self in the esteem and affection of the officers 
on General Braddock's staff. The letters of his 
comrades, telling of the slow progress they 
were making, must have had an element of 
consolation for the impatient, afflicted aide, 
who declared he would rather give five hun- 
dred pounds than miss the coming encounter 
at Fort Du Ouesne. 

But the fever was stubborn, and even Brad- 
dock's ponderous, slow-moving army was near 
.its goal before Washington's malady was 
conquered; but he was not to be thwarted. 
Though not able to mount his horse, he made 
; the journey in a wagon and rejoined Braddock's 
force when it was about fifteen miles from Fort 
Du Quesne. He was most cordially received 



54 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

and consulted with regard to the advance upon 
the fort. 

He advised that, as there would probably be 
Indian fighting to do before reaching the fort, 
it would be well to put the Virginia Rangers in 
advance. This suggestion was not relished by 
General Braddock, who had a decided contempt 
for provincial soldiers and unlimited faith in the 
regulars. 

And, surely, they made a splendid show, those 
scarlet-coated regulars, as they marched along 
the bank of the Monongahela, acros-s the ford 
in the noon sunshine, and into the forest be- 
yond. The forest path, with its tall trees and 
thick underbrush growing on either side, was 
fresh and cool even on that July day, and the 
regulars entered it eagerly. 

Perhaps the Virginia Rangers, who knew 
the ways of the Indians, had visions of a 
fire in its cool shade hotter than the noon-day 
sun, but all pressed on, confident of victory 
whenever they might encounter the enemy. 
They were within eight miles of Fort Du 
Quesne when some French and Indians sud- 



WITH BRADDOCK. 55 

denly appeared in the road before them and 
fired. 

Undismayed, the British answered with a 
volley that cut down the leader and many of 
his men. But if they expected this to end the 
skirmish they were mistaken. On came the 
yelling band in front, and along either side of 
the British army, stretching like a slender 
ribbon through the forest, swept a tempest of 
fire and smoke, and sounded the terrible war- 
whoop. 

Then Washington would have had the men 
take to the forest, and from the shelter of trees 
and stones fight the savages in their own way. 
But this was not the British way, and General 
Braddock ordered up the ordnance and com- 
manded the men to form in ranks, stand fast, 
and return the fire. It was terrible to stand 
there firing at trees and bushes, with comrades 
falling all around, under the deadly hail of 
bullets and to hear those frenzied yells from a 
near but unseen foe. 

Panic soon seized the stoutest hearts, and, 
dropping their guns, the soldiers would have 



56 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

fled, but their leaders were more terrible than 
the enemy. Washington saw the officers, who 
had seemed so effeminate on the march in their 
fear of hardship and love of ease, tireless and 
fearless on the field of battle. 

With absolute disregard for his own safety. 
General Braddock galloped along the line, 
cursing the panic-stricken men, beating them 
with the flat side of his sword, and compelling 
obedience. One horse after another was shot 
under him, but his courage did not fail. The 
Virginians, not waiting for the command, took 
to the woods, fighting Indian fashion, and 
so afforded the regulars some protection ; but 
they, firing from the road and unable to dis- 
tinouish friend from foe in the thicket shot 
them down. 

Washington tasted to the full on that day the 
horrors of battle. The roar of cannon, the 
victorious scalp-cry, the neighing of frightened 
horses, the groans of the dying, the brute fear 
of trapped men, the terrible anger of balked 
courage, made a lasting impression on his 
mind. The faintness of fever that had made 



WITH BRADDOCK. 5/ 

him in the morning scarcely able to sit his 
horse gave way to the passion for conquest. 

He saw men dying all around him. Three 
horses were killed under him; bullets whizzed 
past him and some pierced his clothing, but he 
felt no fear of death for himself. He rode about 
in the thickest of the battle, like one who bore 
a charmed life. And when at last General 
Braddock, sorely wounded and forced to admit 
defeat, ordered a retreat to save the remnant 
of his force, he found Washington his chief 
support 

The British left their provisions and ammuni- 
tion in the road and fled in disorder toward 
Camp Dunbar. The handful of attacking 
French, satisfied with their victory, held the 
horde of Indians in check and offered no pur- 
suit. But the terrified regulars fancied them 
ever at their heels and ran with no abatement 
of fear. Washington, with the few surviving 
officers and the Virginia Rangers, conveyed 
General Braddock to Camp Dunbar, where he 
died. 

He was buried in the middle of the road, 



58 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

that the wagons might pass over his grave and 
obliterate all trace of it. It is said that after 
the battle the old general hated the sight of a 
red coat and had only praise for the blue-coated 
Virginians. 

The fragment of General Braddock's division 
paused at Camp Dunbar only long enough to 
communicate to the rest of the army their own 
terror. Colonel Dunbar himself caught their 
panic, and, against the entreaties of Washing- 
ton, beat a hasty retreat, leaving the settlements 
on the frontier without defence against the 
victorious savages. 

During the war that followed, it was Wash- 
ington's task to defend the Virginia frontier 
against the Indians. The frontier was exten- 
sive ; the settlements were scattered ; Washing- 
ton's force was small and spiritless ; his enemy 
numerous, cunning, and treacherous. So great 
was the suffering of the people on the frontier 
that Washington declared, '* I would be a will- 
ing offering to savage fury and die by inches 
to save the people." 

But his death would have been the gravest 



WITH BRADDOCK. 59 

misfortune for his distressed countrymen. They 
looked upon him as their chief defence and 
loved him well. Colonel Fairfax wrote him, 
" Your health and fortune are the toast of every 
table." 



CHAPTER VI. 
DAYS OF PEACE. 

Not every brave soldier makes a good citi- 
zen in time of peace. Let us see how it was 
with Virginia's military hero. Were the trials 
and the excitement of war and the love of 
glory necessary to bring out the strong qualities 
of this man ? Or were there elements in his 
character that answered to milder stimulus ? 

Washington's was a many-sided nature. 
Years of life in camp and on the march had not 
spoiled him for finer pleasures. Dreams of 
military glory had not lessened his desire to 
stand well in the occupations of peace. 

Indeed, sometime before the day when he 
took possession of the smoking ruin that had 
been Fort Du Quesne, he had had a personal 
reason for wishing the war to be over. He 
had, in truth, fallen in love, and had pressed 
his suit with such success that he only waited 

60 



DAYS OF PEACE. 6 1 

to be free from the stern duties of war to be 
married. 

The lady who had won the heart of Wash- 
ington was not an unexperienced girl, but a 
widow only a few months younger than he — 
Mrs. Martha Custis. She was a fair colonial 
dame, with sweet voice and gentle, gracious 
manners. The face of Martha Washington, as 
she looked in the days when she was the '* first 
lady of the land," is almost as familiar to us as 
Washington's, and from that we can judge a 
little how she must have looked when, in the 
prime of womanhood, she gave her hand to her 
soldierly suitor. 

Many of the best families of Virginia were 
represented in the company gathered in the 
little church on the bright January morning in 
1759 when George Washington was married. 
And all looked with pleasure on the stately, 
elegant dame in her ample, shimmering bridal 
robes, and upon the noble-looking officer beside 
her. He was a man good to see — tall, straight, 
and handsome, with the bearing of a soldier 
and a gentleman. 



62 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

He was richly dressed for the occasion, in 
blue and scarlet with silver trimmings. When 
the wedding was over and the bride rode off in 
her great coach, Washington rode beside her 
on his war horse, attended by servants in 
splendid new livery of white and scarlet. He 
responded gayly to the greetings of the .good 
people along the way, who were glad to see 
their brave young colonel so handsome and so 
happy. 

Washington's marriage brought him increased 
responsibilities. Mount Vernon, which since the 
death of Lawrence Washington's widow and 
daughter had belonged to him, was now but a 
small part of the great estate under his charge. 
His wife and her two children had inherited 
from Mr. Custis a vast fortune, and Washing- 
ton now undertook the management of their 
property. 

Forest trees must be turned into lumber; 
uncultivated fields must be made to yield first- 
class tobacco ; acres of exhausted tobacco land 
must be made to wave with grain ; wheat must 
be converted into fine flour ; a hardy breed of 



DAYS OF PEACE. 63 

horses and mules must be raised to do the 
draught work of the estate. 

Stables must be filled with blooded horses 
for driving and hunting ; untrained and extrav- 
agant servants must be disciplined and trained 
to give good service ; former buildings and 
quarters for the negroes must be repaired or 
newly built; good foreign markets must be 
found where, at the highest profit, the products 
of farm and mill could be disposed of in ex- 
change for such goods as were not made in the 
colonies. 

And Washington welcomed these tasks, great 
and small, and set about doing them in the best 
possible way. Even such small matters as the 
quantity and quality of food to be distributed 
to the servants, the doctoring of a lame horse, 
the building of a goose pen, received his per- 
sonal attention. Mrs. Washington had no taste 
for business, and her husband freely gave his 
thought and time to the most minute details of 
the household. 

He loved his step-children fondly and ordered 
little Patsy Custis playthings from London 



64 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

with the greatest care. He was concerned 
about the education of the children and took 
pains to secure thein good teachers. The boy's 
indifference to books and school troubled him 
greatly. He employed a housekeeper to save 
his wife the burden of looking after the Mount 
Vernon home. 

He even ordered dresses for her, and we 
find in his account book frequently such entries 
as the following: ''A salmon-colored Tabby 
of the enclosed pattern, with satin flowers, to 
be made in a sack." *' i cap, handkerchief. 
Tucker and Ruffles, to be made of Brussels lace 
or point, proper to wear with the above negligee, 
to cost ;j^ 20", ''I pair black, and i pair white 
satin shoes, of the smallest." 

Indeed, Washington never considered dress 
a trifling matter. He once advised his nephew, 
" Do not conceive that fine clothes make fine 
men more than fine feathers make fine birds. 
A plain genteel dress is more admired and 
obtains more credit than lace and embroidery, 
in the eyes of the judicious and sensible." 



DAYS OF PEACE. 6$ 

Yet, when a young man, he had some taste for 
"fine feathers" himself 

At one time he ordered, "A superfine blue 
broadcloth coat, with silver trimmings." *'A 
fine scarlet waistcoat full laced," and "silver 
lace for a hat." Later, however, his taste became 
more sedate, and he wrote his tailor, " I want 
neither lace nor embroidery. Plain clothes 
with a gold or silver button (if worn in genteel 
dress) are all I desire." 

But he was particular to have the cloth good 
and the clothes cut in late style. He was fond 
of society, and while in Williamsburg he and 
Mrs. Washington went to dinners and dances 
with the gayest. Even at Mount Vernon life 
was not without diversion, and the family was 
rarely vv^ithout guests. 

Washington's horses and dogs were his pride. 
He was one of the best riders in the country, 
and to follow the hounds on his spirited horse, 
Blueskin, was a pleasure of which he did not 
weary. His journal has frequent entries of 
this sort: 

"Went a-hunting with J^cky Custis, and 



66 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

catched a fox after three hours' chase ; found it 
in the creek." '' Started a fox and run him four 
hours. Took the hounds off at night." " Fox 
hunting with Lord Fairfax and his brother and 
Colonel Fairfax. Started a fox and lost it." 
"Catched two foxes." *' Catched two more 
foxes." 

Though Washington heartily enjoyed this 
rough sport there was a very gentle side to his 
nature, that is shown in his tender love for his 
little step-daughter, *' Patsy Custis." When 
she died he wrote to a friend : 

" It is an easier matter to conceive than to 
describe the distress of this family ; especially 
that of the unhappy parent of our dear Patsy 
Custis, when I inform you that death yester- 
day removed the sweet, innocent girl. She 
entered into a more happy and peaceful abode 
than any she had met within the afflicted path 
she hitherto had trode." 

During her lifetime he eagerly sought reme- 
dies for her illness and means of giving her 
pleasure. Numerous as were the demands on 
Washington's time and attention by his home 



BAYS OF PEACE. 6/ 

and business, he never lost interest in the pubHc 
welfare. He was elected a member of the 
House of Burgesses year after year, and al- 
ways found time to go to Williamsburg, the 
capital, and attend to the duties of that office. 

It is said that when he first took his seat in 
the House, the Speaker made an eloquent ad- 
dress thanking him for his services to his 
country. Washington rose to reply, but stood 
stammering, unable to think of an appropriate 
reply, till the Speaker said: '*Sit down, 
Mr. Washington, your modesty equals your 
valor, and that surpasses the power of any 
language I possess." 

Washington was never an orator, but ordi- 
narily he had the power to speak well and to 
the point, and in a short time he gained con- 
siderable influence among the lawmakers of 
Virginia. 



CHAPTER VII. 
INDIGNATION. 

The peace that followed the French and 
Indian War was a period of material prosper- 
ity for Washington and his neighbors. The 
American colonies were, indeed, becoming 
strong and self-confident, but their outlook 
was not unclouded. 

For these were the years preceding the 
Revolution, and they were years of indignant 
resistance to the despotic acts of the mother 
country. To be sure, some of the colonists 
were loyal to the king and advocated obedience 
to his will. The Fairfax family, for example, 
was unshaken in its faith that the king could 
do no wrong. 

Others were quite determined that the king 
should do no wrong, though they did not in the 
least question his ability and inclination to do 
serious mischief. But they said little about the 

68 



INDIGNATION. 69 

king and directed their criticism against his 
ministers. 

Washington took a profound interest in the 
great question at issue between England and 
America. He had warm personal friends 
on both sides and heard many heated discus- 
sions as to the right and wrong of the cause. 

He dined with the royal governor of Virginia 
one day; on another he went to the Raleigh 
Tavern, where the members of the dissolved 
House of Burgesses were passing resolutions 
declaring their rights. George Mason and 
Patrick Henry were his associates; still, his 
friendship for the Fairfax family did not grow 
cold. 

But, nevertheless, for him there were no two 
sides to the question, and he made quite clear 
by word and deed on which side he stood. 
From the first he regarded the attitude of 
England as a menace to American liberty, and 
quietly but firmly took his stand for freedom 
—an end to be gained at any price. 

His private interests and his knowledge of 
the evils of war led him to hope devoutly 



70 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

that the trouble might be peaceably settled. 
But he doubted the possibility of that and was 
ready to take up arms, if need be, to show 
England that she could not tax the American 
colonies without their consent. 

The French and Indian War had overcome 
his awe for British regulars, and he believed 
that in the event of war victory to the colonists 
was highly probable. It is said that, on hearing 
Sir Jeffrey Amherst's boast that with five thou- 
sand British regulars he would engage to march 
from one end of the continent of North Amer- 
ica to the other, repeated in a coffee house one 
day, Washington declared that with one thou- 
sand Virginians he would undertake to stop 
Sir Jeffrey's march. 

He feared that the sword must be drawn in 
the end, but he was in earnest about trying 
other means first. He used his influence to 
secure the introduction and passage of the non- 
importation resolutions. It was his hope that 
by refusing to buy the taxed articles the colo- 
nists might succeed in forcing England to 
remove the hated tax. 



INDIGNATION. 7 1 

To refrain from importing taxed articles 
occasioned inconvenience to the colonists, and 
many who voted for the resolutions promptly 
violated them. Washington, however, was 
very particular in making out his orders for 
merchandise to specify that no taxed goods 
were to be shipped to him. 

He noted in his journal that he observed the 
first day of June, the day on which the Boston 
Port Bill was to go into effect, as a day of fast- 
ing and prayer. But when he saw peaceful 
methods failing his voice was for war. In 1769 
he wrote with reference to civil liberty, " That 
no man should scruple, or hesitate a moment, 
to use arms in defence of so valuable a bless- 
ing, on which all the good and evil of life 
depends, is clearly my opinion." 

At a Virginia convention he made a brief 
but characteristic speech, of which we have the 
following record : '' Colonel Washington made 
the most eloquent speech at the Virginia Con- 
vention that ever was made. He said, ' I will 
raise one thousand men, subsist them at my 



72 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

own expense, and march myself at their head 
for the relief of Boston." 

Washington was chosen as one of the six 
delegates sent by Virginia to the First Con- 
tinental Congress. Two fellow delegates 
stopped at Mount Vernon for a night, and it 
is said that when the three friends started on 
their journey to Philadelphia, Mrs. Washing- 
ton's words to her husband and departing 
guests were, '' I hope you will stand firm. 
I know George will." 

In that Congress Washington made no 
speeches, but he was, nevertheless, much 
noted. Men commented upon his youthful 
appearance with surprise, recalling his mili- 
tary record. They quoted to one another the 
speech he had made at the Virginia conven- 
tion. He was regarded by all as a man of 
few words, but a man of power. 

Patrick Henry said: '* If you speak of solid 
information and sound judgment. Colonel 
Washington is unquestionably the greatest 
man on the floor." In due time Washington 



INDIGNA TION. 73 

went back to Virginia and took an active part 
in organizing the militia. 

He thought of leading a company into action 
in the event of war, and declared, *' I shall very 
cheerfully accept the honor of commanding it, 
if occasion requires it to be drawn out, as it is 
my full intention to devote my life and fortune 
in the cause we are engaged in, if needful." 

After Lexington and Concord, Washington 
wrote : '' Unhappy it is to reflect that a brother's 
sword has been sheathed in a brother s breast, 
and that the once peaceful plains of America 
are either to be drenched with blood or inhab- 
ited bv slaves — sad alternative! But can a 
virtuous man hesitate in his choice." 

Washington went to the Second Continental 
Congress dressed in his colonel's uniform of 
blue-and-buff; and was representative of the 
war spirit of Virginia. He was placed on 
several important committees and his opinion 
on all questions was solicited. There were 
many brave and able men in that Congress, 
but men of military experience were scarce. 

It is not strange, then, that when resistance 



74 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

was determined upon and a commander-in-chief 
of the Continental forces had to be chosen, 
Massachusetts yielded to Virginia, and the 
honor fell to George Washington. He had 
not sought the honor and accepted it with 
some reluctance, declaring that he did not 
consider himself equal to the task. 

At the same time he announced his intention 
of serving his country without pay. Having 
written a most affectionate letter to his wife 
and made his will he started for Cambridge, 
to take command of the army that was to drive 
the British from Boston. 

He had scarcely begun his journey when he 
received news of the Battle of Bunker Hill. 
He asked eagerly: *' Did the militia fight?" 
He would have had less doubt of the Virginia 
militia, but he was going to take command of 
strange soldiers from a section of the country 
more famed for commerce and preaching than 
fighting. 

If Washington felt some doubt about the 
military ability of the New Englanders, those 
plain democratic people were on their part 



INDIGNATION. 75 

only half-ready to receive this aristocratic South- 
erner as commander. But his noble soldierly 
bearing won confidence and admiration every- 
where. 

And when, on the third of July, seated on his 
splendid horse, under the great elm tree, now 
famous as the ** Washington Elm," he took 
command of the American army, there was 
genuine enthusiasm for the American com- 
mander-in-chief. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
REBELLION. 

Force was to be matched against force. The 
indignant colonists were determined that the 
British troops should be driven from their 
midst. General Gage and his twelve thousand 
red coats must be dislodged from the city of 
Boston. This was the task of the new com- 
mander-in-chief 

With an army twenty thousand strong of 
such men as had fought the Battle of Bunker 
Hill the undertaking seemed possible enough. 
The people expected to give the parent country 
a prompt and efficient rebuke. General Wash- 
ington found the Continental troops in great 
disorder and confusion. 

His force must be organized and drilled be- 
fore it could be used to advantage. On actual 
count the reputed twenty thousand men proved 

to be but fourteen thousand. In giving direc- 

76 



REBELLION. 77 

tions for the welcome of General Washington, 
John Adams had written : '' The whole army, 
I think, should be drawn up in line on the 
occasion, and all the pride, pomp, and circum- 
stances of glorious war displayed ; no powder 
burned, however." 

That last clause had a terrible signification. 
When General Washington learned that he 
had taken command of an army without gun- 
powder, he is said not to have spoken for half 
an hour. His situation was most distressing. 
The fact that he was without powder must be 
kept with the utmost secrecy, lest some hint of 
it should reach the enemy. 

The colonists, the soldiers themselves, could 
not know the true reason why the insulting 
roar of the enemy's cannon was answered with 
silence : why days and weeks and months 
passed without action. While messengers 
were hurrying over the land to secure powder, 
the intrenchments were being strengthened, the 
men drilled, and the camp reduced to military 
order. 

General Washington, with his great thorough- 



78 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

ness and genius for detail, found almost baffling 
difficulties in the way of this accomplishment. 
Many of the volunteers were youths from New 
England farms, who had come to war eager for 
battle, but not ready to endure the hardships 
of a long encampment. 

They deserted in great numbers, and when 
the period of enlistment was ended many 
refused to re-enlist, so that really a new army 
had to be recruited and a new beginning made 
with discipline. General Washington was ex- 
ceedingly strict, but his magnificent presence 
excited the soldiers' awe, and his personal 
courage roused their enthusiasm. 

Once, while talking with some officers at head- 
quarters, he received word that a serious dis- 
turbance was taking place between some New 
England troops and the newly arrived com- 
panies from Virginia, on the commons near the 
college. 

Making an excuse to his officers, he sprang 
on his always-ready horse and was off for the 
scene of action with such speed that his friends 
and attendants had difficulty in keeping up 



REBELLION. 79 

with him. They found about a thousand men 
engaged in a scuffle with fists, and stones, and 
snowballs. An attendant ran forward to let 
down the bars, but General Washington spurred 
his horse and the thoroughbred cleared bars, 
boy and all, with a bound, and landed the 
general in the midst of the mutineers like a 
thunderbolt. 

He was off his horse in an instant and had 
two great brawny fellows by the throat, shaking 
them and rebuking them in a way that brought 
them and all observers very promptly to their 
senses. There were troubles, however, that 
could not be settled so easily by a strong arm. 

Some of the officers were local politicians 
with no patriotism and no courage, attracted to 
the war, by the opportunities it offered for dis- 
honest gain. Their cupidity and cowardice 
angered the high-principled General Washing- 
ton, and he watched sharply for fraud, and 
punished it relentlessly, however popular and 
influential the offender might be. 

But the power above him, the Continental 
Congress, gave General Washington the most 



80 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

trouble. He tried to impress upon Congress 
the necessity of long terms of enlistment, as 
the volunteers were no sooner made ready for 
service than their term was over, and the work 
of training had all to be done over again with 
new men. 

He tried, too, to show the necessity of a 
higher quality of men for officers and, con- 
sequently, the need of more liberal salaries, and 
the necessity of better equipment for private 
soldiers. But Congress was so afraid of the 
army's becoming too powerful that it handi- 
capped the commander-in-chief at every turn. 

It was well that the British generals. Gage 
and Howe, remained inactive while General 
Washington was mastering the difficulties that 
beset him. When spring came he was ready 
for action, and on the night of the fourth of 
March he conducted a detachment of twelve 
hundred men to Dorchester Heights, to throw 
up intrenchments and station themselves in a 
place from which their cannon could command 
the city. 

General Washington feared discovery and 



REBELLION. 8 1 

had his men in position ready to meet an attack 
should the British take the alarm. But the men 
worked through the night at Dorchester Neck 
without interruption, and the British looked 
out at daybreak to see the American entrench- 
ments frowning upon them. Their dismay 
was complete. It seemed almost as if Aladdin 
with his magic lamp must have come true. 

General Howe said it must have taken 
twelve thousand men to do the work ; that his 
entire army could not have done in a month so 
much as the Americans had achieved in a single 
night. General Washington's highest expecta- 
tions were realized. These raw country boys 
had shown their general that they could work 
with a will when real business w^as afoot. 

He half expected an advance from the British, 
but a storm prevented such a step on the 
enemy's part, and General Washington made 
good use of the time thereby to push on the 
work of entrenchment, and made the fortifica- 
tions so strong that the British gave up hope 
of storming them. An occasional shell from 
General Washington's guns soon warned the 



82 GEORGE WASHINGTON, 

British commander that to save his men 
from total destruction he must make a hasty 
departure. 

Accordingly, on the 17th of March, the hated 
red-coats left the crooked streets of Boston. 
This brought general rejoicing to the colonies ; 
and General Washington's wisdom and general- 
ship were the theme of the hour. Those who 
had criticised him most severely were now 
ready with congratulations and well-deserved 
praise. 

No one knew better than General Washing- 
ton how great was the work he had done. He 
summed up his winter's achievement in this 
telling sentence : '' To maintain a post within 
musket-shot of the enemy for six months to- 
gether, without powder, and at the same time 
to disband one army and recruit another within 
that distance of twenty-odd British regiments, 
is more, probably, than was ever attempted 
before." 

But he did not rest on his laurels. He knew 
that the war was not over ; and began hurrying 
troops to New York. That city was the strong- 



REBELLION. 83 

hold of the Tory interest in the north, and he 
rightly conjectured that it would be the objective 
point of General Howe when he returned with 
a fresh force. Here he had to do again much 
the same work that he had done at Cambridge. 

There was this added difficulty that New 
York was full of British sympathizers who did 
everything in their power to annoy and handi- 
cap the Americans. General Washington re- 
garded the Tories as traitors and treated them 
with severity. 

The long winter's experience, the restlessness 
and insolence of the British, and their cruelty 
to American prisoners of war, had convinced 
him that there could be no permanent healing 
of the breach between the colonies and Eng- 
land. The hatred had become too deep and 
bitter, the wrongs too grievous to be forgiven 
or forgotten. 

i He saw quite clearly that the war had best 
be fought to the end and that the issue was not 
one of the right of exemption from taxation, 
but of absolute independence. When he was 
called to Philadelphia by Congress to give his 



84 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

opinion concerning the management of the 
Indians during the war, a campaign against 
Canada, and the treatment of prisoners of war, 
he did his best to make Congress see that, while 
these were important questions, the question 
of the end for which they were fighting was the 
most important of all. 

It was with solemn joy that he welcomed the 
Declaration of Independence and read it to his 
assembled troops, amidst great rejoicing. 



CHAPTER IX. 
THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. 

I The Americans were still rejoicing over the 
I Declaration of Independence, when General 
\ Howe appeared with a large force, and, sailing 
up the Hudson, landed his troops on Staten 
Island. One of his first acts was to send to 
General Washington a letter addressed to 
'' George Washington, Esq." 

Now General Washington had no disposition 
to see one of the foremost representatives of 
the new government treated without full re- 
spect, so he promptly returned the letter with 
the reply that there was no person of that 
address in the army. As General Howe had 
been instructed not to recognize the American 
commander-in-chief by his title, this put an end 
to communication between them. 

Congress thanked General Washington for 
his conduct on this occasion and refused to 

S3 



86 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

consider the proposals for peace brought by 
General Howe. The days for reconciliation 
were past; the struggle for independence had 
begun. The prospect w^as not an encouraging 
one. 

The British general had a large fleet and a 
well-trained, well-equipped army at his com- 
mand and limitless resources to draw upon. 
The American general, with his motley, ever 
changing host of raw recruits, saw the difficulty 
of holding the unfortified disaffected city of 
New York. He would have burned the city 
had Congress been willing, but, thwarted in that 
plan, he was compelled to take the defensive 
and to make the capture of the city as difficult 
for the enemy as possible. 

Believing an advance might be made by way 
of Long Island, he stationed a force at Brook- 
lyn under General Greene. The movement 
General Washington anticipated occurred. The 
British surprised the Americans on Long 
Island and after a sharp engagment took 
over one thousand of them prisoners. They 
delayed storming the entrenchments, however, 



THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. 87 

and General Washington brought over from 
New York strong reinforcements. 

But learning that the British fleet was 
making some movement and realizing the 
danger of being surrounded and entrapped 
by the British, he determined to retreat to New 
York. To do that he must procure boats and 
transport nine thousand men across a broad, 
swift channel within a few hundred yards of 
the enemy. It was a hazardous undertaking; 
the risk was great, but it was the only possible 
way to escape. 

A dense fog arose and that hastened General 
Washington's movements. All night he super- 
intended the loading of the boats and grimly 
watched the heavy, silent specks as they slipped 
out into the fog, and as morning came he took 
his place on the last boat. For forty-eight 
hours he had not closed his eyes, had, in fact, 
scarcely left the saddle. 

The anxiety he had suffered for the safety of 
his army had been terrible. But the danger 
was over and he was a devoutedly thankful 
man. The chagrin of the British when they 



88 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

awoke in the morning to find their prey had 
escaped and the trenches empty was unspeak- 
able. 

The wonder and the admiration roused by 
General Washington's masterly retreat went 
far to overcome the depression and discourage- 
ment to which the tidings of the great loss of 
men on Long Island had given rise among the 
colonists. 

General Washington congratulated himself 
that September had come and he had held the 
enemy at New York so long that it was scarcely 
likely that they would undertake to make any 
serious incursions into the country before going, 
into winter-quarters. The taking of the city 
could not, however, be delayed much longer, 
so General Washington held his men in readi- 
ness for instant retreat: 

He had no intention, however, of retreating 
before it was necessary, and when a detachment 
of British made an attack. General Washing- 
ton in person rushed to the front to help 
repulse the skirmishing party. The untried 
militia were panic stricken. General Washing- 



THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. 89 

ton was enraged to see them fleeing like 
cowards. 

He commanded them, he beat them with his 
sword after the manner of Braddock on that 
fatal day long passed, but all in vain. They 
fled, leaving him alone in the very presence of 
the enemy. Later the British took Fort Wash- 
ington and the American army was obliged to 
withdraw toward the capital. The American 
cause looked hopeless. 

The soldiers were dispirited, and deserted in 
great numbers. Many of the New Jersey 
people indicated their loss of confidence and 
their alarm by tacking red rags on their doors 
to show that they were the king's loyal sub- 
jects. Every day the condition became more 
desperate. On the twentieth of December 
General Washington wrote to Congress that 
ten days would put an end to the existence of 
the army. 

In this dark hour all who looked for success 
in the struggle pinned their faith in General 
Washington. Hitherto Congress had limited 
his power jealously. In this emergency it con- 



90 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

ferred upon him almost unlimited power for 
a period of six months. The leader was 
worthy of the trust. This strong, resourceful 
man was well-nigh indomitable. 

In extremity he showed his mettle. The 
journey across the ice-encumbered Delaware 
in open boats, the surprise of the Hessians at 
Trenton after their Christmas night revels, the 
brilliant maneuvers at Princeton, renewed the 
courage of the army and the country. The 
cause was saved. 

General Washington's success not only 
electrified America, but Europe. Frederick 
the Great is said to have pronounced the 
Trenton campaign the most brilliant of the 
century. Many a daring French youth deter- 
mined to seek a commission under the great 
American general. 

Still, the condition of the army was too 
critical to be materially remedied by the great- 
est generalship. General Washington had no 
hope of conducting an aggressive campaign. 
His plan now was to keep an army together 
in the field with which to harass the British. 



THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. 9I 

To do this required effort, and for years 
General Washington worked against obstacles 
and discouragements that would have over- 
whelmed any but this invincible man. But he 
had no thought of surrender. Indeed, he 
declared that rather than yield he would cross 
the Susquehanna River and the Allegheny 
Mountains, if need be the Mississippi, and 
found an independent empire on its farther 
shore. 

Though always impatient with disloyalty or 
cowardice in his men, he had a father's sym- 
pathy and care for them in their trials and 
hardships, and the soldiers and common people 
loved him with a sort of hero worship. Indeed, 
not a little jealousy and even alarm was felt 
in some quarters because of the people's 
devotion to him. 

During the terrible winter when he was 
holding together the fragments of an army of 
barefooted, half-starved men at Valley Forge, 
a plot was formed to deprive him of his com- 
mand and supplement him by General Gates. 
Men that he trusted were in this plot, but a 



92 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

loyal friend disclosed the affair to General 
Washington. He had but to write to the 
leader, calmly informing him that he was aware 
of his treachery. The possibility of the matter 
being made public was enough to end it. 

Still, there were many who feared and 
resented the almost unlimited authority of the 
commander-in-chief, and they did what they 
could to check and embarrass his undertakings. 
To personal slights and indignities he rose 
superior. He was too truly great to falter or 
recoil because of the malice or even the 
treachery of others. 

When his trusted officer, Benedict Arnold, 
turned traitor. General Washington was as firm 
and inflexible as justice itself in his attitude 
toward Arnold and his accomplice, Major 
Andre. 

When Lee proved insubordinate if not trai- 
torous at Monmouth, General Washington, far 
from being unmanned by the blow, redoubled 
his ordinary energy of mind and limb and was 
all of General Washington and more than Lee 
besides. 



THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE, 93 

Men likened him to an angel from heaven 
as in his terrible wrath and glorious courage 
he led that day's battle. When Hamilton was 
petulant and angry, General Washington seems 
not to have been tempted to be other than 
magnanimous and kind. But enmity and dis- 
loyalty toward General Washington were the 
exception. 

Where one was jealous or hostile many 
were devoted. Tilgham, Morgan, and La 
Fayette were not exceptions ; most of his 
officers revered and loved him. He was the 
people's idol. Their gratitude and trust were 
precious to him, but in no petty way; he 
sought not to acquire but to deserve their 
affection. 

The long-drawn-out war had strained the 
resources of the country, and the people had 
sunk into a state of indifference, from which 
General Washington saw they could not be 
aroused except by a signal victory. 

He believed a defeat at this time would be 
fatal to the cause for which he had worked so 
devotedly. He was, therefore, unwilling to 



94 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

hazard an engagement unless reasonably sure 
of success. 

General Clinton with a strong force held 
New York. General Cornwallis with another 
strong force was stationed at ^ Yorktown. 
General Washington was watching General 
Clinton, while Generals Greene and La Fayette 
were in the South, w^here they received only 
faint-hearted support from the Americans. 

Thomas Jefferson, who was then Governor 
of Virginia, wrote General Washington urging 
him to come in person to Virginia, saying that 
were he there " the difficulty would be to keep 
men out of the field." And that was exactly 
what General Washington intended to do. 
But he took great pains to give the enemy and 
even his own countrymen the id^a that he 
was preparing to attack General Clinton in 
New York. 

He was meanwhile secretly arranging to 
concentrate the entire force at his command, 
including his own army and the troops and 
fleet of our French allies, in Virginia. With 
wonderful secrecy and sureness General Wash- 



THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. 95 

ington planned every detail of the campaign. 
There must be no slip. With great satisfaction 
he saw his carefully laid plans being realized, 
and believed General Cornwallis would soon be 
within his grasp. 

During the siege of Yorktown, General 
Washington, of course, took no part in the 
fighting, but he showed his usual indifference 
to danger. 

One of his aides seeing him standing in an 
exposed place begged him to step back a little. 
He replied quietly, ** You have the liberty to 
step back, sir, if you wish," but kept his stand, 
watching the progress of the battle. 

When the redoubts were taken and the sur- 
render of the city assured General Washington 
remarked, ** The work is done, and well done : 
bring my horse." It was in one sense done. 

On the seventeenth of October, 1781, 
General Cornwallis surrendered to General 
Washington. General Washington spared 
General Cornwallis unnecessary humiliation 
and the ceremony of the laying down of their 
arms was made as little public as possible. 



96 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

This surrender was a crushing blow to the 
British and was virtually the end of the war. 
The victor nevertheless considered this no time 
for idle rejoicing. There was business calling 
him North. For a few days he was detained 
in the South by a personal sorrow. His wife's 
only son had been stricken with camp fever 
while on duty at Yorktown and now lay dying 
at Eltham. 

Mrs. Washington was overcome with grief, 
and General Washington, taking her in his 
arms, declared, '' From this moment I adopt 
his two youngest children as my own." After 
a brief visit at Mount Vernon, General Wash- 
ington went North. 

He agreed with Benjamin Franklin's state- 
ment : " The English are unable to carry on 
the war and too proud to make peace." He 
saw the necessity of overcoming that pride by 
keeping up a good show of readiness to go on 
with the war. He said, *' If we are wise let us 
prepare for the worst. There is nothing which 
will so soon produce a speedy and honorable 
peace as a state of preparation for war; and 



THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. 97 

we must either do this or lay our account for 
a patched-up, inglorious peace after all the toil, 
blood, and treasure we have spent." 

His theory prevailed in Congress and the 
army was kept together with promises of pay. 
Congress, however, treated the army with such 
neglect that large numbers of officers would 
have resigned had it not been for the influence 
of General Washincrton. Learninc^ that their 
discontent was about to find expression in such 
a move, he called them together and made 
them an address. 

Before beginning to read he remarked: 
" Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my 
spectacles, for I have not only grown gray but 
almost blind in the service of my country." 
He then proceeded to read a moving declara- 
tion of the identity of his interests with theirs, 
of appreciation for what they had done, and 
sympathy in their struggle for just recognition 
of their services. 

Those battle-scarred men were moved to 
tears by the generosity and patriotism of the 
man who had endured so much more than any 



98 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

of them, and they were dissuaded from their 
purpose„ Not only was the army dissatisfied 
with Congress, the people also gave the 
Government but feeble support. 

At this juncture a proposal was secretly 
made to General Washington that he take the 
government into his own hands. Had he been 
a Cromwell the matter would have been easily 
accomplished. Being General Washington, 
he rejected the proposal with displeasure. 

However impatient he might become with 
the actions of Congress, he always respected 
what Congress stood for. He had not been 
toiling all these years to give America up to 
one-man power. He understood that this was 
not the nation's wish. On the twenty-third of 
March he received word that the treaty of 
peace had been signed, and officially the war 
was over. 

But it was not until the twenty-fifth of 
November, 1783, that the British army left 
and General Washington and his troops took 
possession of New York. He sent out an 
eloquent farewell address to his army, and 



THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE. 99 

made a brief speech to his officers. The part- 
ing was deeply felt on both sides. He then 
went to Annapolis to lay down his commission. 
On the twenty-third of December, 1783, he 
stood before the assembled Congress and sur- 
rendered the office he had made so illustrious. 

LOFC. 



CHAPTER X. 
THE PRESIDENT. 

The prospect of quiet life at Mount Vernon 
had seemed most alluring to General Wash- 
ington during the years of responsibility and 
turmoil through which he had passed. And 
now he gladly went back to his farm. The 
surrender of his commission, however, could 
not release him from the claims of the public. 

He wrote to his mother: *' My house is at 
your service, and I would press you most 
sincerely and most devoutly to accept it, but 
I am sure, and candor requires me to say, it 
will never answer your purpose in any shape 
whatsoever. For, in truth, it may be compared 
to a well-resorted tavern, as scarcely any 
strangers who are going from North to South, 
or from South to West, do not spend a day 
or two at it." 

Thus friends and admirers found him out 

100 



THE PRESIDENT. 10 1 



in his retreat. Among his guests were distin- 
guished men of all sorts. Not infrequently 
artists came that way, and he has left an amus- 
ing account of his attitude toward having his 
portrait painted: "I am so hackneyed to the 
touches of painter's pencil," he wrote, ''that 
I am now altogether at their beck, and sit 
like Patience on a monument whilst they are 
delineating the lines of my face. 

** It is a proof among many others of what 
habit and custom can accomplish. At first 
I was as impatient* at the request and as restive 
under the operation as a colt is of the saddle. 
The next time I submitted very reluctantly 
but with less flouncing. Now, no dray-horse 
moves more readily to his thill than I to the 
painter's chair." 

Many a traveller of that day has written in 
the notes of his journey some significant 
comments on his Mount Vernon host. One 
tells how he was distressed with a cough while 
a guest of the house, and how, as he lay cough- 
ing in his bed, he heard some one enter the 
room, and, drawing his bedcurtains, looked 



[02 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



out to find the dignified General Washington 
standing beside him with a bowl of hot tea. 

General Washington saw in a few months 
many influential men under his own roof. 
Further, he carried on an extensive correspond- 
ence with men actively engaged with the 
government of the confederacy. It is, then, 
not surprising that when a convention for 
drawing up a constitution for the United States 
was decided upon. General George Washing- 
ton was called to preside over its meetings. 

The convention was made up of delegates 
from the several States. It lasted for four 
months. Some of the members were in favor 
of a strong central government ; others favored 
leaving the States more independent of one 
another. General Washington had learned 
from the troubles and successes of war the 
weakness of separation and the power of 
union. He supported the Federal side. 

Now that the Union was at last created, a 
President must be chosen. There were in 
America two men above party, trusted by 
the whole people : the philosopher, Benjamin 



THE PRESIDENT. IO3 

Franklin, and the soldier, General George 
Washington. Both were considered worthy 
of the honor, but General Washington ''was 
first in the hearts of his countrymen," and he, 
whose extensive talents Jefferson pronounced 
"superior to those of any man in the world" 
was chosen almost unanimously for the grave 
responsibility of launching the new ship of 
state. 

In all humility, as General Washington meas- 
ured his powers with the requirements of so 
high a trust, he felt some misgivings. But at 
the same time he knew that circumstances had 
made him the one man best fitted to do the 
critical work of binding the various States into 
a strong, enduring union, and he had no thought 
of shirking the responsibility. 

His journey to New York was a continued 
ovation. The evidence that people gave their 
enthusiastic love and trust moved General 
Washington deeply. Concerning his welcome 
in New York, he wrote : '' The display of boats 
which attended and joined us on this occasion, 
some with vocal and some with instrumental 



104 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

music on board ; the decoration of the ships ; 
the roar of cannon, and the loud acclamations 
of the people, which rent the skies as I passed 
along the wharves, filled my mind with sensa- 
tions as painful (considering the reverse of this 
scene, which may be the case after all my 
labors to do good) as they were pleasing." 

On the thirtieth of April he was inaugurated 
on the balcony of the City Hall. The beloved 
blue-and-buff uniform worn on his journey 
had been changed for a citizen's dress of brown 
cloth of American make ; he wore, however, 
a steel-hilted sword. After General Washing- 
ton had taken the oath of office, Chancellor 
Livingston, who had administered it, stepped 
forward and cried with upraised hand, *' Long 
live George Washington, President of the 
United States." 

The watching crowd below took up the 
shout ; cannon roared a salute ; bells rang, and 
all was hope and joy. As there never had been 
a President of the United States, there were 
no fixed customs to follow. President Wash- 
ington felt that all that he did would be criti- 



THE PRESIDENT, IO5 

cally observed and that his conduct would set 
a standard for those who followed him. 

What the President should wear, with what 
degree of elegance he should drive abroad, 
how he should receive his guests, by what title 
he should be addressed, were questions of 
sufficient importance to concern the public. 

Fortunately President Washington was a 
man of excellent taste and great dignity, and 
his solution of these problems was always 
admirable. Democratic in theory, he was in- 
flexibly opposed to the conferring of titles of 
nobility. By temperament an aristocrat, he 
would brook no familiarity. 

Hamilton once remarked that President 
Washington was most austere in his relations 
even with his friends. Morris objected, assert- 
ing that he was as much at ease with the 
President as with any man. At that Hamilton 
offered to give him and twelve friends a dinner 
if he would approach President Washington, 
slap him gently on the shoulder, and remark : 
''Well, General, I'm glad to see you looking so 
well." One evening Morris tried the experi- 



I06 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

ment; whereupon the President withdrew his 
hand, stepped back, and gave his friend a look 
of surprise and displeasure that made it quite 
clear to him that he was rebuked. 

With such a temperament as this incident 
reveals, it is not likely that the new President 
would err on the side of want of dignity. In- 
deed, President Washington and his "Lady" 
were fully equal to their social responsibilities 
in those days of stately ceremony. 

In the early experience of General Washing- 
ton, when commander-in-chief of the army, he 
had been criticised for yielding his own judg- 
ment too readily and acting upon the advice 
of his generals. As President he did not make 
that mistake. It was said of him that while he 
sought information from all, he was influenced 
by none. 

He made his appointments independently 
and wisely. In affairs of state he acted upon 
his own conviction of right against the opposi- 
tion of his friends and advisers. This was 
especially true in his conduct with reference to 
the French during the French Revolution. 



THE PRESIDENT. IO7 

Many were in favor of returning to the 
French in their struggle for liberty the sym- 
pathy and aid they had so generously given 
us. President Washington felt the generous 
desire as strongly as any, but he had taken the 
presidency with the resolve to see the new 
Republic firmly established. 

He was determined that he would not sac- 
rifice the welfare of his own nation to that of 
others ; if he could prevent it the United States 
should not become embroiled in disputes with 
other nations. 

In spite of threatened unpopularity he did 
not waver, and when, after eight years of service 
as chief executive, he refused another term of 
office, his farewell address was based on this 
idea: the importance of union at home and 
the absolute political independence of foreign 
powers abroad. 

He foresaw more clearly than many men of 
his time the great future of the United States, 
the possibility of growth and development in 
this western continent, and the peril of alliance 
with European nations before the elements of 



I08 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

our Union were more firmly cemented and 
developed. On the thirteenth day of Decem- 
ber, 1799, after a single day's illness, the great 
and illustrious George Washington died at 
Mount Vernon, Virginia. 



A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

OF 

THOMAS JEFFERSON 




THOMAS JEFFERSON. 



The Story of the Author of the 
Declaration of Independence. 

THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

By miss FRANCES M. PERRY. 



CHAPTER I. 

Thomas Jefferson celebrated his twenty- 
first birthday by planting an avenue of shade 
trees in front of the old homestead, Shadwell, 
as the place was called ; it was his now, to make 
as beautiful as he liked. 

Doubtless, on that bright thirteenth of April, 
the tall, fair-haired youth thought eagerly of 
the future when those sapplings should be 
towering trees, and other changes should be 
made. But he must have thought of the past, 
too; for in that homely old house, with its 
great chimneys and many-paned windows, he 
was born. 



1 1 2 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

With it were connected many memories of 
his childhood, one at least dating back to his 
very babyhood. He remembered quite dis- 
tinctly, just there where the blacks were busily 
shoveling the earth over the roots of that 
young locust, being lifted up on a pillow when 
only two years old, to be taken in the arms 
of a mounted slave on the long journey to 
Tuckahoe. 

As he looked at the rich fields stretching 
away on all sides of the house he must have 
smiled if he remembered a certain deed filed 
away with his important business papers. For 
that deed solemnly witnessed that his father 
had ** purchased those 400 acres from William 
Randolph for Henry Weatherbourne's biggest 
bowl of arrack punch." 

He loved to think about that father, the hero 
of his early boyhood, whose companionship 
and guidance he had of late years sorely 
missed. And Peter Jefferson was a man any 
son must needs have loved and respected. 
He belonged to a good but undistinguished 
Virginia family. Being a younger son, his 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. 1 1 3 

education had been neglected and he had 
inherited no wealth. 

But he had ability to acquire what had not 
been provided for him. He had a natural 
aptitude for study and knew more about math- 
ematics and literature than many a graduate of 
William and Mary College. He had a strong, 
free nature that easily won the confidence and 
affections of men of all classes. 

Among Peter Jefferson's many friends were 
the Randolphs. Now the Randolphs be- 
longed to the aristocracy of old Virginia. 
They were proud of their blue blood, of their 
wealth and of their worth. And they had 
good reason for their pride. Few families 
could boast so many distinguished ancestors 
and living members, so much cultivation, and 
so much achievement. 

Peter Jefferson was the intimate friend of 
William Randolph, of Tuckahoe, and was 
frequently a guest at the home of William's 
uncle, John Randolph, whose daughter Jane 
he sought in marriage. 

We are told that John Randolph was a 



1 14 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

scholarly gentleman and lived handsomely and 
luxuriously, with more than a hundred servants 
to do his bidding. 

We find the following mention of him in a 
letter written from London, England, to the 
naturalist, Bartram, who was traveling in Amer- 
ica: "When thee proceeds home, I know no 
person will make thee more welcome than 
Isham Randolph. He lives thirty or forty 
miles above the falls of James River, in Gooch- 
land, above the other settlements. Now, I 
take his house to be a very suitable place to 
make a settlement at, for to take several days 
excursions all round and to return to his house 
at night." 

"One thing I must desire of thee and do 
insist that thee oblige me therein : that thou 
make up thy drugget clothes, to go to Virginia 
in and not appear to disgrace thyself or me; 
for though I should not esteem thee the less 
to come to me in what dress thou will, yet 
these Virginians are a very gentle, well-dressed 
people, and look, perhaps, more at a man's 
outside than his inside. For these and other 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. 1 1 5 

reasons pray go very clean, and handsomely 
dressed to Virginia." 

However much Isham Randolph esteemed 
a fair exterior and material things, he could 
appreciate manliness and worth of character, 
too, and he made no objections when Peter 
Jefferson asked for his daughter's hand. 
Young Peter Jefferson and William Randolph 
secured large tracts of Virginia land adjoining 
each other. 

Randolph patented 2400 acres, Jefferson, 
1000. Jefferson's plantation was on the Ri- 
vanna; it was largely made up of fertile 
fields, but ran back into the foothills of the 
Blue Ridge mountains and included the entire 
hill, or mountain, that afterward became known 
and famous as Monticello. But beautiful as 
the situation was, Peter Jefferson, apparently, 
did not find a building site to suit his taste, for 
he built his home on the land given him by 
William Randolph for a bowl of punch. 

As soon as the house was finished, Peter 
Jefferson married Jane Randolph and brought 
her out on the frontier to live. Thomas Jeffer- 



1 1 6 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

son, their third child, was born on the thirteenth 
of April, 1743. ' 

But Shadwell was not the scene of all of 
Thomas Jefferson's boyhood. When he was 
but two years old his father's friend, William 
Randolph, died. His dying request was that 
Peter Jefterson should take charge of his great 
estate at Tuckahoe and be the guardian of his 
young son. 

To do this it was necessary that Peter Jeffer- 
son should live at Tuckahoe. Accordingly he 
moved his family there, and for seven years de- 
voted a large part of his time to executing the 
trust of his friend, which he did without pay. 

Aside from farming, Peter Jefferson did a 
great deal of surveying. He made the first 
reliable map of Virginia which had ever been 
made. While living at Tuckahoe he was 
appointed a member of a commission to survey 
the boundary line between North Carolina and 
Virginia. He was often away from home on 
difficult and even dangerous surveying expedi- 
tions. 

Little Thomas Jefferson never wearied of 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. 1 1 / 

hearing tales of his encounters with wild 
beasts, of nights spent in trees for safety, of 
days of journeying through unbroken forests 
with only an Indian for a comrade. In the 
community that grew up near Shadwell, Peter 
Jefferson was a leader. He was a justice of 
the peace, colonel of the militia, and member 
of the House of Burgesses of Virginia. 

His position as colonel of the militia brought 
him into contact with the Indians. Important 
chiefs were often entertained at his hospitable 
home. Thus Thomas Jefferson's interest in 
the red man may be traced to his early child- 
hood, when he saw the chiefs in his father's 
house and visited their camps in the woods. 

Peter Jefferson took great interest in his 
son's physical development; he taught him 
to ride and swim and to take long w^alks. He 
often said that men who have strong bodies 
are most apt to have strong, free minds. His 
own strength was the wonder and delight of 
his son. 

He could pass between two hogsheads of 
tobacco, lying on their sides, and lift them, 



Il8 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

both at the same time, to an upright position, 
though each weighed almost one thousand 
pounds. One day when he was directing three 
slaves to pull down an old shed with a rope, 
growing impatient with their futile efforts to 
do the work, he siezed the rope and, single- 
handed, brought the structure down with a 
crash. 

But Peter Jefferson desired strength for his 
son as a means to an end. When the lad was 
only five years old he was sent to a good 
school where he had to work hard. As he 
grew older he showed unusual ability. This 
delighted the father, who read and talked with 
him and took pains to excite in him a true 
ambition for knowledge. When Thomas was 
fourteen years old his father suddenly died. 

The boy now studied under Mr. Maury. 
He made rapid progress and was his teacher's 
pride. He was popular with boys of his own 
age, and was the darling of his mother and 
his older sister, Jane. Indeed, he seemed in a 
fair way to be spoiled ; but his father had 
kindled in him ambitions that were easily 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. I 1 9 

fanned into flame, and at the age of seventeen 
he wrote his guardian the following letter : 

" Shadwell, January 14, 1760. 

''Sir. — I was at colo, Peter Randolph's about a fortnight 
ago, and my SchooHng faUing into Discourse, he said he 
thought it would be to my Advantage to go to the college, 
and was desirous I should go, as indeed I am myself for 
several Reasons. In the first place as long as I stay at the 
Mountain, the loss of one-fourth of my Time is inevitable, by 
company's coming here and detaining me from School. And 
likewise my absence will in a great measure put a stop to so 
much company, and by that means lessen the expense of the 
Estate in House-keeping. 

'* And on the other hand by going to college, I shall get a 
more universal acquaintance, which may hereafter be service- 
able to me ; and I suppose I can pursue my Studies in the 
Greek and Latin as well there as here, and likewise learn 
something of the Mathematics. I shall be glad of your 
opinion, and remain Sir, your most humble servant. 

"THOMAS JEFFERSON, Jr. 

"To Mr. John YIymnyn^ at Bellemont:^ 

The college referred to in this letter was 
William and Mary College, in Williamsburg. 
Mr. Hervey thought Thomas Jefferson's plan 
a good one, and the boy accordingly became 
a student in that institution. 



CHAPTER II. 
COLLEGE DAYS. 

The distance from Shadwell to Williams- 
burg seemed greater in 1760 than in these days 
of steam engines and electric cars. A traveler 
in those days usually allowed himself time 
for one or two visits on the way. It was 
winter when Thomas Jefferson first took the 
journey with William and Mary College for 
his goal. 

He stopped at Hanover to make one of a 
merry party spending the Christmas holidays 
at the home of Colonel Dandridge. The visit 
was a memorable one for Thomas Jefferson 
not only because he had a very good time, 
but also because it was here that he first met 
Patrick Henry. 

Patrick Henry was then an uncouth-looking 
country lad whose principal object in life 
seemed to be to have a good time and to 



COLLEGE DAYS. 121 

furnish amusement to others. Perhaps Thomas 
Jefferson discovered that the big rustic had a 
serious as well as a comic side ; at any rate, 
he liked him and their friendship dated from 
that visit. 

Williamsburg was the capital of the colony, 
the town in which the royal governor lived. 
Here rich planters from all parts of the colony 
gathered for the regular sessions of the House 
of Burgesses. Many brought their wives and 
daughters with them, and some who had no 
particular business there came to spend a few 
weeks in the city and enjoy the balls and 
banquets. 

William and Mary College offered the best 
educational advantages in the South, and its stu- 
dents were promising, if not cultivated, Amer- 
ican boys. Then, as now, some of the students 
wanted to learn and were willing to study 
hard; others cared more for pranks than for 
books. At one time Thomas Jefferson wrote 
a friend ''that all was excitement at the college 
and several boys had run away to escape 
ilagellation." 



122 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

Thomas Jefferson was not long in making 
acquaintances at Williamsburg. He found 
many relatives there, who vied with each other 
in trying to make their young kinsman have 
a good time. He accepted their hospitality 
and went often to balls and parties, rode fine 
horses, played the violin, and made himself 
agreeable to the ladies. 

He was a most elegant and scrupulous gal- 
lant. It is said that when the groom brought 
up his spirited horse for his daily ride, Thomas 
Jefferson would brush his cambric handkerchief 
across the animal's shoulders and if the snowy 
linen was in the least soiled thereby he would 
send the horse back to the stable to be groomed 
more perfectly. He was a handsome rider and 
loved a fine horse. 

When the end of the year came, young 
Thomas Jefferson, who had thought it would 
be cheaper to study at Williamsburg than at 
home, was surprised to find how much money 
he had spent. He wrote a frank letter to his 
guardian, acknowledging his extravagance and 
requesting him not to take the amount from 



COLLEGE DAYS. 1 23 

the family income, but to deduct it from his 
share of the estate. 

His indulgent guardian replied, that if this 
was the extent of his wild oats the estate 
could well afford to pay the bills. But Thomas 
Jefferson was no trifler; he had a real thirst 
for knowledge, and his interest in his college 
courses being once thoroughly aroused there 
was no danger of his squandering his oppor- 
tunities for self-improvement. 

For awhile he devoted nearly all his time to 
study. He did not, however, forget altogether 
his father's teaching about the importance of 
exercise, and every evening at dusk he left 
his work long enough for a brisk run to the 
first mile-post and back. 

As the result of his close application, he 
soon came to be regarded as the most brilliant 
student in college. He did excellent work 
in all his classes, whether Latin, Greek, or 
mathematics. But he enjoyed the most of all 
the lectures on rhetoric and literature, given 
by Dr. William Small, a scholarly Scotch 
professor. 



124 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

The latter was strongly attached to this 
gifted student, and the two spent many happy 
hours together. Dr. Small introduced Thomas 
Jefferson to his friend, George Wythe, at that 
time one of the most distinguished lawyers in 
America, and a noble, worthy gentleman. His 
influence decided Thomas Jefferson to make 
law his profession. 

It was through Dr. Small, also, that Thomas 
Jefferson became acquainted with Governor 
Fauquier, a most polished gentleman, a man 
of rare gifts and accomplishments. The latter 
immediately took the young law student into 
high favor. Not only was he invited to all 
social functions at the governor's palace, but 
he was made welcome there at any hour. 

Thomas Jefferson, Mr. Wythe, and Dr. Small 
met frequently at the governor's table for 
friendly talks on philosophy, art, books, archi- 
tecture, or music. Thomas Jefferson was fond 
of music on the violin. He belonged to a 
small musical club of which Governor Fauquier 
was a member. 

In short, he saw a great deal more than 



COLLEGE DAYS. 1 25 

would have been wise for an ordinary boy to 
see of that brilliant but dangerous man, who 
was a reckless gambler and is said to have 
wielded an evil influence over the entire 
colony. Thomas Jefferson's character must 
have been unusually strong; for, while many 
older men were led into gambling and other 
evils by the example and influence of the 
governor, this youth, his daily companion, 
gained from him only what was good. 

Years later he wrote his grandson an inter- 
esting letter in which he told him how he 
was able to resist the temptations that beset 
him in those days. Here is a quotation from 
that letter : ** When I recollect that at fourteen 
year? of age the whole care and direction of 
myself was thrown on myself entirely, with- 
out a relative or friend qualified to advise or 
guide me, and recollect the various sorts of 
bad company with which I associated from 
time to time, I am astonished that I did not 
turn off* with some of them and become as 
worthless to society as they were. 

'' I had the good fortune to become acquainted 



126 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

very early with some characters of very high 
standing, and to feel the incessant wish that 
I could even become what they were. Under 
temptation and difficulties, I would ask my- 
self—what would Dr. Small, Mr. Wythe, or 
Peyton Randolph do in this situation ? What 
course in it will insure their approbation ? 

'' I am certain of this mode of deciding on 
my conduct tended more to correctness than 
any reasoning powers I possessed. Knowing 
the even and dignified lives they pursued, I 
could never doubt for a moment which of 
two courses would be in character for them ; 
whereas, seeking the same object through a 
process of normal reasoning, and with the 
jaundiced eye of youth, I should have erred. 

*' From the circumstances of my position, I 
was often thrown into the society of horse- 
racers, card-players, fox-hunters, scientific and 
professional men, and of dignified men ; and 
many a time have I asked myself, in the 
enthusiastic moment of the death of a fox, the 
victory of a favorite horse, the issue of a ques- 
tion eloquently argued at the bar, or in the 



COLLEGE DAYS. 12/ 

great council of the nation, well, which of 
these kinds of reputation should I prefer — that 
of a horse jockey, a fox-hunter, an orator, or 
the honest advocate of my country's rights ? 

'*Be assured, my dear Jefferson, that these 
little returns into ourselves, this self-catechising 
habit, is not trifling nor useless, but leads to 
the prudent selection and steady pursuit of 
what is right." 

Yet Thomas Jefferson was not a prig and 
was very much respected by boys of his own 
age. He had also many friends among the 
Williamsburg belles and thought himself in 
love several times, as we learn from his letters 
to a confidential friend. 

However much he enjoyed society he was 
faithful to work. In the summer he rose 
before it was light, just as soon as it was 
possible to see the hands on the clock at the 
foot of his bed ; in the winter, five was his 
rising hour. His practice was to study four- 
teen or fifteen hours a day. He had great 
endurance and sometimes studied nearly all 
night for many successive nights, but, unless 



128 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

there was some special reason for his keeping 
late hours ten o'clock usually found him 
asleep. 

His vacations were spent at Shadwell. Near 
his home was a mountain that he called Monti- 
cello. This was his favorite resort, and he and 
his friend, Dabney Carr, frequently took their 
books and violins on fair summer days and 
spent delightful hours studying and practising 
under a splendid oak near its summit. 



CHAPTER III. 
PRACTISING LAW. 

Thomas Jefferson was by inheritance a 
farmer; and, though he never intended to 
make farming his chief business, he gave a 
good deal of attention to his estate even before 
becoming of age. He was fond of nature and 
a keen observer, and knew much about his 
land. 

He kept a garden book in which he made 
careful entries about the fruit and vegetables 
raised on the place. He had many plans for 
making the estate more beautiful. How he 
celebrated his twenty-first birthday, we have 
already seen. His life at Shadwell was sad- 
dened by the death of his sister Jane, on the 
first of October, 1765. 

Jane, his oldest sister, had always been his 
favorite. Their tastes were somewhat similar. 
She cared for music and books, and it had been 



I 30 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

their custom to sing and read together. No 
other member of the family could fill her place 
in his affection. He found consolation in 
work. 

That he was no idler may be judged from 
the programme he made at about this time 
for a young friend to follow. He advised 
him to study the natural sciences, anatomy, 
zoology, botany, chemistry, etc., till eight o'clock 
in the morning; to read law from eight to 
twelve ; politics from twelve to one ; history 
during the afternoon ; and literature, criticism, 
and rhetoric from dark till bedtime. It was 
his habit not only to read extensively, but 
very carefully, and to take notes as he read. 

He studied law under the guidance of his 
friend, George Wythe, and in 1767, at the age 
of twenty-four, was admitted to the practice 
of law in the General Court of Virginia. He 
was thoroughly prepared for his work and 
did not have to wait for clients. His account 
books show that during his first year of practice 
he was employed on sixty-eight cases and 
made about fifteen hundred dollars. 



PRACTISING LAW. 131 

That was doing very well at a time when 
money was scarce and prices were low. His 
practice increased rapidly. Thomas Jefferson 
was not an advocate but an office lawyer. 
His strength was in his knowledge of law and 
his power to reason clearly — not in making 
moving speeches. His voice was not suited 
to oratory; when raised above the natural 
pitch it soon grew husky and could not be 
heard in a large room. 

But when he did plead a case he spoke in 
such a way as to convince his hearers that 
he supported the right side. An old Vir- 
ginian, who had heard him speak many times, 
was asked by one of the latter's descendants 
whether or not Thomas Jefferson had much 
persuasive power. He answered. ** Well, that 
would be hard to tell, you see he always 
happened to speak on the right side." 

His ability was promptly recognized by the 
community in which he lived. He was elected 
a member of the House of Burgesses. He 
was employed as attorney by some of the 
most prominent men in the colony. While 



132 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

especially a collector of facts pertaining to his 
profession he gathered zealously information 
on all lines. 

His note book was in constant use, and 
every note was made in a fine, beautiful, 
legible hand. Even a chance talk was often 
made to furnish some specific and valuable 
information. He usually encouraged a man to 
talk on the subject best known to him and was 
willing to learn of any one who had anything 
to teach him. 

Strangers were always impressed by the 
variety and extent of Thomas Jefferson's infor- 
mation. A traveler at an inn one day began 
talking with him about trade and was sure he 
was a merchant ; a little later the conversation 
turned to the subject of medicine and the 
traveler thought he must have been mistaken, 
this man was not a merchant but a doctor ; he 
seemed absolutely at home on whatever topic 
was introduced. 

In the winter of 1770, Shadwell was burned 
to the ground. Thomas Jefferson was not at 
home at the time. On learning of the fire 



PRACTISING LAW. I33 

he exclaimed, "Did you save my books?" 
"No," answered the servant who had brought 
the news, "they are all burned, but we saved 
your fiddle." 

Except for the loss of the books Thomas 
Jefferson was not seriously disturbed by the 
destruction of his home at Shadwell, as he had 
already begun to build a beautiful new home 
on the summit of Monticello. 

Only a small part of Thomas Jefferson's 
new home was completed when, two years 
after the burning of Shadwell, he married. 
He had many rivals in his suit for the hand of 
Martha Skelton, a widow, young, beautiful, and 
rich. Tradition tells us how three of her hope- 
ful lovers cast lots to determine which should 
have the first chance to declare his love, and 
how the two luckless ones waited in the garden 
while Thomas Jefferson tried his fortune, until, 
at length, they heard a violin and the voices of 
Thomas Jefferson and the lady singing a love 
song together. Then they knew that there 
was no hope for them. 

Thomas Jefferson was married at "The 



I 34 THOMAS JEFFERSOA. 

Forest," as the home of the bride's father was 
called, on the first of January, 1772. The 
wedding was celebrated with splendor and 
gayety. There were fair dames in elegant silken 
gowns and gallant men dressed no whit less 
splendidly than the ladies. There were music 
and dancing to suit the gayest ; all the guests 
were royally served with food and drink, and 
every one was happy. 

Happiest of all were the laughing-eyed bride- 
groom and the beautiful bride ; and they had 
need to be happy to bear with good nature the 
hardships in store for them. A light snow 
was falling when they left '' The Forest," which 
increased as they journeyed until it became 
so deep that progress seemed hopeless. They 
had to leave the carriage and ride on horse- 
back over eight miles of dark, rough mountain 
road. 

When at last they reached Monticello there 
were no lights or servants to welcome the 
belated travelers. The negroes had long since 
given up hope of their coming, darkened the 
house, and gone to their quarters. Once within 



PRACTISING LAW. 1 35 

the snug library, however, with candles lighted, 
things looked a bit more cheerful. 

And surely the bride laughed when her 
scholarly husband pulled down some solemn- 
looking law books from a shelf and drew from 
behind them a bottle of red wine. Thomas 
Jefferson was at the time of his marriage 
twenty-eight years of age. He had proved 
himself successful in law and in the mana^re- 
ment of his estate. 

He had increased the nineteen hundred acres 
his father had left him by wise purchases till 
he now owned five thousand acres. His farm 
yielded him two thousand dollars a year; his 
law practice three thousand dollars a year. 
This gave him an income that entitled him to 
be counted a successful business man. His 
wife's fortune was about equal to his own. 



CHAPTER IV. 
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

Thomas Jefferson had not been so en- 
grossed in building up his private fortune that 
he had had no time for larger interests. When 
he was still a law student, in 1765, he had been 
one of the throng crowded in the lobby of the 
assembly room to hear his friend, Patrick Henry, 
make his speech, moving resolutions against 
the Stamp Act. 

His pulse had bounded when he heard 

Patrick Henry say: ''Caesar had his Brutus, 

Charles the First his Cromwell — and George 

the Third — " but his was not one of the voices 

that interrupted with the cry of ''Treason! 

treason!" He listened breathlessly for the 

orator's fearless conclusion — " may profit by 

their example. If this be treason, make the 

most of it." 

Thomas Jefferson said that Patrick Henry 
136 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 1 37 

spoke as Homer wrote. He was thrilled by 
his words, and all his native love of freedom 
and justice was fired to a heat not easily sub- 
dued. Shortly after beginning the practice of 
law, Thomas Jefferson had been elected a 
member of the House of Burgesses. The 
House had not been long in session before it 
was dissolved by the governor for asserting 
rights denied the colonies by the king and 
Parliament. 

The next day the members met in the 
Apollo, the long room in the Raleigh Tavern. 
They formed an association agreeing to retal- 
iate against England's laws interfering with 
colonial trade by not buying taxed goods from 
England. Thomas Jefferson was among those 
\ who signed this agreement. 

He was repeatedly re-elected to his place in 
the House of Burgesses, and was one of the 
committee that drew up resolutions against the 
deportation of American citizens to England 
for trial. These resolutions were passed with- 
out opposition, and the Assembly was again 
dissolved by the Royal Governor. But undis- 



138 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

mayed, the members of the committee met 
and sent copies of their resolutions to other 
colonies. 

When, in 1774, news of the bill closing the 
Boston Port reached the Virginia Assembly, 
Thomas Jefferson was one of the leaders in 
the movement to have the day of its taking 
effect celebrated by fasting and prayer. The 
usual punishment had the usual effect. The 
dissolution of the House of Burgesses was 
followed by a meeting at the Raleigh Tavern. 
This time it was decided to consult with other 
colonies about holding an annual Congress 
made up of represetatives from all the colonies. 

The result was the First Continental Con- 
gress, which convened at Philadelphia on the 
fourth of September, 1774. To Thomas Jeffer- 
son had been intrusted the important work of 
drawing up instructions to guide the Virginia 
delegates in their actions in Congress. He rose 
to the occasion and wrote the masterly docu- 
ment afterward known as *'A Summary View 
of the Rights of British America." 

It was a clear and fearless presentation of 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 1 39 

many of the ideas afterward expressed in the 
Declaration of Independence. It was some- 
what in advance of the feeling of the time, and 
the Virginia Convention gave its delegates 
milder instructions. Yet Thomas Jefferson's 
work had not been done in vain; the Summary 
View was published and circulated widely in 
America and in England and found many eager 

readers. 

1 

' Thomas Jefferson was already well known 
in Virginia, but this paper made him more 
prominent than ever. When Peyton Randolph 
I was called away from the Second Continental 
Congress in order to preside over the Virginia 
House of Burgesses, Thomas Jefferson was 
chosen to take his place in Congress. 

On the eleventh of June, 1775, he started on 

his journey from Williamsburg to Philadelphia. 

He traveled in a four-horse carriage, and it 

took him ten days to make the journey. The 

road was so poorly marked that he had several 

j times to employ guides. On reaching Phila- 

1 delphia he found comfortable rooms in the 

I house of a carpenter, the man who made for 



I40 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

him the desk on which he wrote the Declara- 
tion of Independence. 

As a representative of the leading Southern 
colony, Virginia, Thomas Jefferson was assured 
a certain prominence in Congress. AH were, 
indeed, anxious to hear from Williamsburg. 
They knew Thomas Jefferson brought with 
him Virginia's answer to England's Concilia- 
tory Propositions, and, moreover, that he was 
the author of that answer. 

When he took his place in that gathering of 
distinguished men, a great many were surprised 
to find the writer of the " Summary View of 
the Rights of British America" so young a 
man. He was, in fact, next to the youngest 
member in Congress. He was unusually tall, 
being six feet two inches in height, and very 
slender. 

His eyes were hazel; his hair, reddish; his 
features, delicate ; his face was sensitive and 
expressive. His voice w^as gentle and he rarely 
spoke in Congress. Those who had been 
prepared to oppose the newcomer were dis- 
armed. His personality was so winning that 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. I4I 

all sorts of men liked him and wished to agree 
with him. 

His was not the mildness of indecision that 
exasperates men of power. Vigorous John 
Adams said : "Though a silent member in Con- 
gress, he was so prompt, frank, explicit, and 
decisive upon committees and in convention, 
that he soon seized upon my heart." There 
were in Congress bitter disagreements and 
strong factions. The members who had the 
best friends had also the most implacable 
enemies. Thomas Jefferson came among these 
men and made himself liked even by those 
who could not think as he did. 

His courtesy was so unfailing, his merit so 
indisputable, his patriotism so genuine, that 
none could cherish antagonism toward him. 
It is, therefore, not strange that the brilliant 
young Southerner was elected chairman of the 
committee to prepare a Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. The other members of the com- 
mittee, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger 
Sherman, and Robert R. Livingstone, had a 
high opinion of Thomas Jefferson's gifts as a 



142 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

writer and they pressed upon him the honor of 
drawing up the declaration, as was intended by 
those who had voted to give him the chair- 
manship. 

Thomas Jefferson was full of his subject, 
and retiring to his quiet parlor on the second 
floor of an isolated house on Market street, he j 
wrote, without reference to notes or books of 
any sort, the Declaration of American Inde- 
pendence. The first men to read those words we 
now all know so well, *' We hold these truths 
to be self-evident: that all men are created 
equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator 
with certain unalienable rights; that among 
these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness," etc, etc., were John Adams and 
Benjamin Franklin. 

They were well satisfied with Jefferson's 
work and suggested only a few trifling changes. 
A meeting of the entire committee was then 
held and the Declaration of Independence 
was formally submitted for criticism. The 
committee cordially endorsed the work of the 
chairman. On the second of July the docu- 



ii 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 143 

ment was taken up for discussion by Con- 
gress. 

It was severely criticised by some and 
warmly defended by others. Thomas Jefferson 
sat through the debate, which lasted two days, 
without taking any part in it. John Adams 
spoke for him, fearlessly and firmly. As a 
result of this discussion two important changes 
were made : Thomas Jefferson had directed 
censure against the king and the English 
people. This, it was feared, might offend some 
Englishmen who were disposed to be friendly 
to America, and the blame was made to rest 
on the king alone. 

Again, Thomas Jefferson had declared against 
the evils of slavery and the slave trade and 
charged England with narrow self-interest and 
inhumanity in introducing that barbarous insti- 
tution into the colonies. This was omitted, 
lest it alienate slave-holding colonists. Both 
changes were regretted by Thomas Jefferson, 
who thought the document weakened by the 
changes. 

On the evening of the fourth of July the 



144 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

vote was taken and every member of Congress, 
save one, went to the desk and signed his name 
to the Declaration of Independence. Liberty 
bells and cannon announced to the waiting 
public the birth of the new government — that, 
"We the representatives of the United States 
of America in General Congress assembled, 
appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world 
for the rectitude of our intentions, do in the 
name, and by the authority of the good 
people of these colonies, solemnly publish and 
declare, that these United Colonies are, and 
of right ought to be, free and independent 
States ; that they are absolved from all alle- 
giance to the British Crown, and that all polit- 
ical connection between them and the State of 
Great Britian is, and ought to be, totally dis- 
solved, and that as free and independent States 
they have full power to levy war, conclude 
peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, 
and do all other acts and things which inde- 
pendent States may of right do." 

The Declaration of Independence was read 
in the field before the divisions of the army, 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 1 45 

in the legislatures, before the lawmakers, in 
the churches before the people. Everywhere 
it was heard with solemn joy or uncurbed 
enthusiasm ; everywhere men honored the 
one who had said so nobly what all wanted to 
say. 



CHAPTER V. 
SERVING VIRGINIA, 

The success of the Revolution was not to 
be decided on the field of battle alone. Not 
only must a nation be beaten ; a new State 
must be built. For this statesmen as well as 
soldiers were needed. The illustrious men 
who helped to strike down the oppressor did 
a glorious work. Service no less important 
was rendered by those who established the 
new government on a firm basis of freedom 
and equality. 

Thomas Jefferson was one of these. A 
student of history and law and politics, he had 
clear, well-matured notions of a practical re- 
public. His thought did not love to dwell 
on the terrible present, the filthy prison ships, 
burned and plundered homes, bloodshed and 
death. His imagination flew forward to the 

days when peace should rest upon the country 

146 



SERVING VIRGINIA. 1 47 

and men ' should be free to enjoy their hardly 
won liberty. 

He wanted to make the reward worthy of 
the awful cost. It was not enough that the 
people should be free from the tyranny of a 
king; they must be secured against other 
forms of tyranny. The opportunity to found 
a government, based on sound democratic 
principles, in Virginia, appealed to him. He 
resigned his seat in Congress and was elected 
to membership in the House of Delegates of 
the new State of Virginia. 

He knew that the changes he wished to 
make in Virginia laws would meet with opposi- 
tion from the conservatives, but he went to 
work heart and soul to accomplish such reforms 
as he could. In the first place he wanted per- 
sonal liberty for all men. Slavery had always 
seemed to him an offence in the sight of God 
and man. 

During his first term in the old House of 
Burgesses he had introduced a bill to abolish 
slavery, but had failed to carry it. He now 
introduced another to the effect that every 



148 THOMAS JEFFERSOJV. 

negro child born in Virginia after a certain 
date should be free. But the people were not 
willing to give up an institution that had been 
so profitable, and this measure was lost. 

Thomas Jefferson regretted that the republic 
must start with this serious blemish, but he 
did not, because defeated here, relinquish his 
efforts to secure justice in other particulars. 
In Virginia at that time the Church of England 
was the State Church. Citizens were required 
by law to have their children baptized into the 
Church and to contribute toward its support 
one-tenth of their income. 

This was a hardship for those who were 
not Episcopalians in faith. Thomas Jefferson 
believed a man's religion was a personal mat- 
ter and that every man should be free to 
worship God in his own way without inter- 
ference from the State. Here again the oppos- 
ing force was strong. The Church party did 
its utmost to continue laws so favorable to its 
material power. 

The contest was long and bitter, but in 
the course of years the will and wisdom of 



SERVING VIRGINIA. 1 49 

Thomas Jefferson prevailed, and one of the 
three achievements chosen by him to be men- 
tioned on his tomb stone was the authorship 
of the statute of Virginia for religious freedom. 

It seemed to Thomas Jefferson that it was 
unjust that only those with wealth should be 
able to educate their children. The poor 
certainly needed the benefits of education. 
He therefore secured for his new republic a 
system of public schools. Of his crowning 
contribution to the educational system of Vir- 
ginia more will be said later. 

There was a strong tendency in Virginia to 
establish a landed aristocracy. A man might 
secure a great estate and make such provisions 
regarding it in his will that it should always 
stay in the family undivided. When he died 
the property would pass to his oldest male 
descendant to be enjoyed by him for life and 
to be handed down at bis death to the next 
in line, and so on down through the centuries. 

The man who held an estate thus entailed 
might need money, might wish to move to 
another country, might prefer business of an- 



150 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

other sort, but he was not free to dispose of 
his land: he must preserve it unbroken. He 
might reahze that his oldest son was unprin- 
cipled, a worthless idler, and wish to leave 
his property in the hands of his capable, 
energetic second son. This he could not do, 
for a man long-since dead had decreed that 
the first son should possess it. 

A proud and lordly gentleman was the 
prosperous life-tenant of one of these great Vir- 
ginia estates. He was attended by obsequious 
servants in family livery ; his crest blazed from 
the panels of his coach ; his sideboard was 
loaded with massive old silver plate; his 
galleries were hung with family portraits. He 
lived bountifully, eating and drinking, enter- 
taining or visiting friends, playing cards or 
following the hounds on thoroughbred horses. 

You may believe he was regarded with 
admiration and envy by his poor neighbors. 
But the bankrupt tenant without money to 
work his farm must see his debts grow and 
his income dwindle if he chose to live on his 
land. Or he must leave the fine old place a 



SERVING VIRGINIA. I51 

prey to weeds and decay and strike out to 
seek his fortune without the capital he might 
have had if he could sell his plantation. 

To Thomas Jefferson, neither of the results 
of the custom of entailing estates seemed 
good for the State. It was not well to have 
a class exempt from labor, making a display 
of luxurious idleness to their hard-working 
neighbors. On the other hand, it was not well 
that lands that might produce wealth should 
lie idle because the men who worked them 
could not or would not cultivate them. 

He was instrumental in having the laws 
allowing perpetual entail, and favoring the 
oldest son above the other children in the 
division of an estate, abolished. It is interest- 
ing to note that Thomas Jefferson himself had 
never suffered from the injustice of these laws. 
His personal experience had been such as might 
lead us to expect to find him on the side of 
his opponents. He was himself the owner of 
more than a hundred slaves; he had been 
brought up in the English Church ; his educa- 
tion had not been neglected ; his had been 



I 5 2 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

the eldest brother's portion; he was free to 
dispose of his beautiful estate. Wholly dis- 
interested was his desire for reform. 

Havingf done an invaluable work in review- 
ing the laws of the State, Thomas Jefferson 
accepted the position of governor. He 
succeeded Patrick Henry, the first governor 
of Virginia after Colonial days. He had served 
the full three years allowed by the constitution. 
Thomas Jefferson was elected by a very small 
majority over an old college friend, John Page. 

As governor, Thomas Jefferson was criticised 
by the short-sighted for not fortifying Virginia, 
so as to prevent the English from invading 
it. They complained that Virginia was left 
defenceless while the conquest of the North- 
west Territory and the victories of the Con- 
tinental army were accomplished with Virginia 
soldiers and Virginia treasure. 

It was Thomas Jefferson's policy to support 
the commander-in-chief in such a way that it 
might be possible for him to keep the enemy 
engaged afar from Virginia. This had been 
the policy of Patrick Henry. This would 



SERVING VIRGINIA. 1 53 

surely have been the poHcy of John Page, who 
melted the lead roof from his house, the most 
magnificent mansion in Virginia, to furnish 
General Washington with bullets. 

This was the policy urged by General Wash- 
ington, greatest of Virginians and Americans. 
This was the policy dictated by common sense 
when there was not treasure enough in Vir- 
ginia to fortify the State with its extensive sea- 
front in such a way as to keep out the English 
should they triumph elsewhere. 

This was the policy dictated by patriotism 
when the commander-in-chief of the American 
army was in sore need of additional soldiers 
and ammunition, yes, even in want of shoes and 
bread for his army. We all know that General 
Washington and his generals could not keep 
the enemy from Virginia. They came with 
fire and sword and no Virginian s person or 
property was in greater danger than Governor 
Thomas Jefferson's. 

General Cornwallis sent Tarleton to Char- 
lottesville where the State Legislature was in 
session with instructions to seize the governor 



I 54 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

and other prominent patriots. One beautiful 
June morning while Thomas Jefferson and his 
family were sitting at the breakfast table at 
Monticello with the speakers of both houses 
of the legislature for guests, the meal was 
interrupted by the arrival of a dust-covered 
rider on a dripping horse. 

He stopped only long enough to cry, '' Fly! 
The English are here ! A detachment of 
Tarleton's terrible riders, under McLeod, are 
already climbing the mountain!" and went 
thundering on to carry the warning to Char- 
lottesville. Thomas Jefferson gave orders to 
have the coach made ready and his guests 
horses brought. His own horse he sent to 
the smith's to be reshod. 

After a hurried breakfast the guests rode 
away. The master of Monticello, making light 
of the danger and promising to follow soon, 
started his wife and children to a place of 
safety, fourteen miles distant. They went in 
the family carriage accompanied by Thomas 
Jefferson's private secretary. 

While Thomas Jefferson was busy collecting 



SERVING VIRGINIA. 1 55 

valuable papers and giving directions for their 
concealment another messenger arrived, bid- 
ding him fly with all speed. He instructed a 
servant to have his horse taken to a spur in 
the mountain, from which he could view the 
valley. With telescope in hand he walked to 
this point. 

But as he could not hear the tramp of 
cavalry and with his telecope could see no 
soldiers in the valley, he decided the alarm 
must have been a false one and started to 
return to the house. He discovered after he 
had gone a short way that his light walking 
sword had dropped from its sheath. Retracing 
his steps to find it, he took another look at 
the valley and saw the village streets swarming 
with Tarleton's white and yellow riders. He 
then mounted his horse and followed his 
family. 

In the meantime danger was nearer than he 
knew. The English had come up the moun- 
tain by another road and had entered the 
house five minutes after Thomas Jefferson left 
it. Caesar, a slave, was in a hole under the 



156 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

floor, hiding the silver and important papers, 
when his comrade, Martin, who had been hand- 
ing the articles to him, heard the clatter of 
hoofs on the driveway, and, without giving 
Caesar time to climb out, clapped down the 
boards on man and treasures. 

The faithful Caesar stayed in this grave-like 
cell eighteen hours without food or light. 
Martin, grim and fearless, faced the foe. He 
found Captain McLeod disposed to be a 
gentleman, and the soldiers had strict orders 
to injure nothing. But he encountered alone 
some disorderly ruffians in the cellar. One of 
them thrust a pistol into his face with the 
command, "Tell where your master is or I'll 
fire." 

** Fire away," answered Thomas Jefferson's 
devoted servant without flinching. After eigh- 
teen hours at Monticello, McLeod and his men 
rode off. They had kept Tarleton's injunction 
to do no injury to the governor's property. 
Thomas Jefferson's Elk Hill Plantation did 
not fare so well during the visit of Lord 
Cornwallis. The soldiers of the latter de- 



SERVING VIRGINIA. 1 57 

stroyed his growing crops and burned his 
barns and stores of grain. 

They killed or carried off cattle, sheep, hogs, 
and horses, cut the throats of young colts, 
burned the fences, and carried off thirty slaves, 
not to freedom, but to death by small-pox and 
camp fever. This treatment of the governor's 
property is the more shocking when we re- 
member how Thomas Jefferson had interfered 
in behalf of the English prisoners of war held 
in Virginia and secured for them humane 
treatment. 

At the close of his second term as governor, 
Thomas Jefferson declined to be a candidate 
for re-election. He found that the successful 
British raids in Virginia had shaken the 
people's confidence in a democratic govern- 
ment in time of war. 

He believed the presence of a man who had 
a reputation as a soldier in the office of 
governor would do much to restore the con- 
fidence of the people. It was Thomas Jeffer- 
son's intention to retire to his farm and no 
longer take an active part in public affairs. 



CHAPTER VI. 
MINISTER TO FRANCE. 

There was much to make private life attrac- 
tive to Thomas Jefferson. His estate was 
large. He had chosen a most beautiful spot 
for his home. He had himself made the plans 
for the fine house he had built on the crest of 
the mountain, gaining many ideas from books 
on architecture he had read and the prints he 
had seen of Greek buildings. 

He loved to collect beautiful things and 
choice books for his house. He enjoyed lay- 
ing out his grounds in beautiful gardens, 
raising rare shrubs and flowers and trees. Of 
vegetables and grains, grapes and olives he 
wished Monticello to produce the finest. 
Kennels and stables, pens and poultry yards, 
garden, orchard, grainfield and woodland, re- 
ceived his personal attention. 

But great as was Thomas Jefferson's enjoy- 

158 



MINISTER TO FRANCE. 1 59 

ment of building, collecting, and farming, 
much of his delight in Monticello grew out of 
the human relationships he enjoyed there. 
The beautiful bride he had brought to his 
mountain home on that stormy night in 1772 
had grown frail as the years passed, but as she 
lost her vigorous health her beauty became, in 
the eyes of her husband, the more ''exquisite." 

He loved her with a devotion so strong and 
tender that public honor and glory had for 
him no charm when measured against her 
happiness. In order to be with her when she 
needed him or wished for his presence he w^as 
ready to forego political appointments that 
would bring him popularity and fame. To 
some it may seem a weakness, but it must be 
admitted that Thomas Jefferson's affection was 
stronger than his ambition. 

As might be supposed, his six children were 
to him a source of great pleasure. His eldest 
daughter was named Martha, for her mother; 
the second Jane, in memory of the dear elder 
sister who had died. Children had a promi- 
nent place at Monticello. Dabney Carr, the 



l6o THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

friend with whom Thomas Jefferson in his 
youth loved to spend summer days studying 
near the mountain top, had married one of his 
sisters. 

Mr. Carr died the year after Thomas Jeffer- 
son's marriage, and the latter took his widow 
and her six children to Monticello to make 
their home with him. He watched over his 
nephews and nieces with a father's affection, 
superintending their games and acting as their 
schoolmaster. The hospitality of Monticello 
was far-famed. Its master had brilliant social 
qualities and was sought after and loved by the 
able and gifted men of his time. 

Scientists, philosophers, writers, musicians, 
were among his guests. Of good books and of 
good talk there was no lack — good music, too, 
was generally to be heard in Thomas Jeffer- 
son's home. He had given much attention 
and time to practice on the violin and played 
well. He appreciated a good instrument 
and came near to coveting his friend's (John 
Randolph) excellent violin. 

Half in fun, half in seriousness, the two 



MINISTER TO FRANCE. l6l 

men drew up a small legal document, with 
an imposing array of witnesses, agreeing that 
if John Randolph outlived Thomas Jefferson 
he should have books belonging to Thomas 
Jefferson's library to the value of eight 
hundred pounds sterling, on condition that if 
Thomas Jefferson lived the longer he should 
receive the violin. 

But just before the outbreak of the Revolu- 
tion Randolph offered to sell his violin to 
Jefferson. He purchased it gladly, though 
henceforth his life was to be too busy to 
permit him using it very much. Thomas 
Jefferson, as has been seen, while not approv- 
ing of slavery, yielded to the prevailing custom 
and employed slaves to work his estate. 

He treated them with great kindness and 
consideration, instructing the overseer always 
that under no circumstances must the force be 
overworked. They felt for him a devotion 
amounting almost to worship. In their eyes 
their master was the greatest and best man in 
the world. 

Thomas Jefferson was too true a democrat 



1 62 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

by nature to require of any man, bound or 
free, such personal service as was customary 
for Virginians of that day to exact. He had 
no body-servant, and when he rode he dis- 
pensed with the usual mounted attendants. 

After his wearying experience as war 
governor, Thomas Jefferson looked forward 
to years of quiet happiness at Monticello. But 
the time was not ripe for that. His wife's frail 
health did not mend, and calls to political 
offices followed him to her bedside. Persist- 
ent efforts were made to secure his services 
as peace ambassador. 

Friends urged him to accept the appoint- 
ment, and because he did not, charged him 
with want of patriotism. Though stung by 
their reproaches, he turned a deaf ear to their 
entreaties. The voice of his dying wife was 
the only voice to which he fully listened in 
those days. And when, at length, on the sixth 
of September, 1782, the heart-breaking parting 
came, Jefferson was ill with grief and sought 
comfort in a seclusion that he could endure 
to have broken by only those he best loved. 



MINISTER TO FRANCE. 1 63 

When, however, the call to public service 
was renewed he gave it favorable consideration. 
He was first asked to go as Peace Ambas- 
sador to France, but as the treaty of peace 
was made before he had sailed, he resumed 
his place in Congress. The membership had 
changed much since he had been there, but 
he was as cordially received by the new House 
as he had been by the old. 

Once in touch with public affairs his interest 
revived, and he was soon pushing forward 
reforms with characteristic zeal. His thoughts 
dwelt much with his motherless children, 
however. Here is a letter he wrote his oldest 
daughter : 

"Annapolis, Nov. 28th, 1783. 
" My Dear Patsy : 

" After four days' journey, I arrived here without any acci- 
dent and in as good health as when I left Philadelphia. The 
conviction that you would be more improved in the situation 
I have placed you than if still with me, has solaced me on my 
parting with you, which my love for you has rendered a diffi- 
cult thing. The acquirements which I hope you will make 
under the tutors I have provided for you will render you more 
worthy of my love ; and if they cannot increase it will prevent 



164 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

its diminution. Consider the good lady who has taken you 
under her roof, who has undertaken to see that you perform 
all your exercises, and to admonish you in those wanderings 
from what is right, or what is clever, to which your inexperi- 
ence would expose you ; consider her, I say, as your mother, 
as the only person to whom, since the loss with which Heaven 
has been pleased to afflict you, you can now look up; and 
that her displeasure or disapprobation, on any occasion, will 
be an immense misfortune, which should you be so unhappy 
as to incur by any unguarded act, think no concession too 
much to regain her good will. 

" With respect to the distribution of your time, the following 
is what I should approve: 

From 8 to 10, practise music. 

From 10 to i, dance one day and draw another. 

From I to 2, draw on the day you dance, and write a 

letter next day. 
From 3 to 4, read French. 
From 4 to 5, exercise yourself in music. 
From 5 till bed time, read English, write, etc., etc. 

" Communicate this plan to Mrs. Hopkinson, and if she ap- 
proves it, pursue it I expect you will write me 

by every post. Inform me what books you read, what tunes 
you learn, and inclose me your best copy of every lesson in 
drawing. Write also one letter every week, either to your 
Aunt Eppes, your Aunt Skipwith, your Aunt Carr, or the 
Httle lady for whom I now inclose a letter, and always put 
the letter you so write under cover to me. Take care that 



MINISTER TO FRANCE. 1 65 

you never spell a word wrong. Always before you write a 
word, consider how it is spelt, and, \{ you do not remember 
it, turn to a dictionary. It produces great praise to a lady to 
spell well. I have placed my happiness on seeing you good 
and accompHshed ; and no distress which this world can now 
bring on me would equal that of your disappointing my hopes. 
If you love me, then, strive to be good under every situation, 
and to all living creatures, and to acquire those accomplish- 
ments which I have put in your power, and which will go far 
towards insuring you the warmest love of your affectionate 
father. 

''Th. Jefferson." 

" P. S. Keep my letters and read them at times, that you 
may always have present in your mind those things that will 
endear you to me." 

Little eleven-year-old Martha or "Patsy" 
read the postscript and heeded it. Years after- 
ward she gave this particular letter to Queen 
Victoria for her collection of letters written by 
distinguished men. She valued it highly. 
Thomas Jefferson wrote his daughter often 
and always told her to be good and to be 
industrious. He was anxious that she should 
become a lovable, accomplished woman. 

In 1784 Congress appointed Thomas Jeffer- 
son as a minister to act with Adams and 



1 66 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

Franklin in negotiating treaties of commerce 
with foreign nations. This necessitated his 
going to France. He had not been there 
long when, on the resignation of Dr. Franklin, 
he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to 
the court of France. 

Dr. Franklin, diplomatist and philosopher, 
had filled this position so brilliantly that the 
office had come to be regarded as one of great 
honor. The French were anxious to know 
what manner of man his successor was. You 
may be sure they had heard of him. They 
had read and admired The Declaration of 
American Independence, and his interesting 
and instructive '' Notes on Virginia." 

A Frenchman who had visited him in 
America had published a book in which he 
celebrated Thomas Jefferson in this fashion : 

'' Let me describe to you a man, not yet 
forty, tall, and with a mild and pleasing counte- 
nance, but whose mind and understanding are 
ample substitutes for every exterior grace ; an 
American who, without ever having quitted 
his own country, is at once a musician, skilled 



MINISTER TO FRANCE. 1 67 

in drawing, a geometrician, an astronomer, a 
natural philosopher, legislator and statesman. 
A senator of America who sat for two years 
in that famous Congress which brought about 
the Revolution. A governor of Virginia who 
filled this difficult station during the invasions 
of Arnold, of Phillips, and of Cornwallis; a 
philosopher in voluntary retirement from the 
world." 

He told much more about his host and life 
at Monticello that was calculated to make his 
readers think Thomas Jefferson a man of rare 
ability and charm. Indeed, the office he had 
been appointed to fill, the work he had done, 
the rumors that had gone abroad regarding 
him, led the French people to have the highest 
expectations of Thomas Jeff*erson. Everywhere 
he more than filled that expectation. 

The veteran French diplomats found this 
pleasant young American as keen and firm 
as the illustrious Dr. Franklin. He looked 
sharply after American interests, but at the 
same time he made warm friends for his 
country and for himself Naturally La Fayette 



1 68 THOMAS JEFFERSON, 

and Thomas Jefferson were strongly attached 
to each other and were much together. In the 
troubled times before the French Revolution 
Thomas Jefferson acted with discretion and 
wisdom. 

Even among the polished French his social 
grace and conversational power were conceded 
to be of superior order. Scientists found him 
scholarly and accurate. An amusing instance 
of his convincing the eminent naturalist, Buffon^ 
of an error is told. They disagreed about the 
formation of a moose. The naturalist contra- 
dicted Thomas Jefferson with authority. 

The latter did not argue the matter, but 
quietly arranged to have the skeleton of a 
gigantic moose shipped to him from New 
England. Inviting those who had been 
interested in the discussion to his house, he 
exhibited the unmistakable evidence of the 
correctness of his impression. The scientist 
admitted his error and henceforth treated 
Thomas Jefferson's comments on animals as 
those of a brother scientist who knew whereof 
he spoke. 



MINISTER TO FRANCE. 1 69 

When business was not pressing, Thomas 
Jefferson traveled through several European 
countries. In his travels he gave particular 
attention to agriculture and horticulture and 
to the industries and the social condition of 
the people. He had brought with him his 
oldest daughter, and placed her in a convent 
school. Maria, aged six, and Lucy, aged two 
(his only other living children), he had left 
with an aunt. 

Little Lucy died, and he was so unhappy at 
having Maria so far away that he arranged to 
have her brought to France. The little girl 
stopped in England to visit Mrs. Adams, and 
this is that lady's description of her: 

** I have had with me for a fortnight a little 
daughter of Mr. Jefferson, who arrived here 
with a young negro girl, her servant, from 
Virginia. Mr. Jefferson wrote me some months 
ago that he expected them, and desired me to 
receive them. I did so, and was amply repaid 
for my trouble. A finer child of her age I 
never saw. 

So mature an understanding, so womanly in 



I/O THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

behavior, and so much sensibility united are 
rarely met with. 

I grew so fond of her, and she was so 
attached to me, that, when Mr. Jefferson sent 
for her, they were obliged to force the little 
creature away. She is but eight years old. 
She would sit sometimes and describe to me 
the parting with her aunt, who brought her 
up, the obligations she was under to her, and 
the love she had for her little cousins, till the 
tears would stream down her cheeks ; and 
how I had been her friend, and she loved me. 

" Her papa would break her heart by making 
her go again. She clung around me so that 
I could not help shedding a tear at parting 
with her. She was the favorite of every one 
in the house." 

It is no wonder that Mr. Jefferson wanted 
this affectionate, impressionable child near her 
sister and himself Both of his daughters seem 
to have been very warm-hearted and ready to 
give their affection to those who were near 
them. 

Martha was so attracted to convent life that, 



MINISTER TO FRANCE. I71 

after she had been in the convent school some- 
time, she wished to be a nun. She wrote to 
her father to ask his consent. For several 
days she received no answer. Then her father, 
her delightful, entertaining father, came to the 
school to make a call. After an interview with 
the abbess he sent for Martha. Without 
referring to the letter, he asked in his winning 
way if his daughter was not almost ready to 
take her mother's place in his household. 

She could not resist that, and gladly went 
to her father's house. She and her sister were 
sent no more to school, but had tutors at home. 
Though still young, Martha was allowed to 
see something of French society, for Mr. Jeffer- 
son was always inclined to make companions 
of his children. 

While Mr. Jefferson was Minister to France 
he injured his wrist so that it was never strong 
again and occasioned him much inconvenience 
in writing. He was walking some miles from 
home with a friend one day when he slipped 
and fell in such a way as to fracture the wrist. 
Grasping the injured member with his left 



\y2 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

hand he went on with his discussion as if 
nothing had happened. It was not until they 
reached his home and he gave directions to 
have a physician sent for, that his friend was 
aware that he had been hurt. This shows his 
fortitude in little things. 

Although Mr. Jefferson enjoyed living in 
France, he was far from preferring that country 
to his native land. It pained him to have his 
daughters growing up strangers to their 
friends and relatives, and in a society so 
different from the simple, sincere social order 
that prevailed in Virginia. 



CHAPTER VII. 
AT HOME ONCE MORE. 

Great changes had taken place in the 
United States during Thomas Jefferson's stay 
in France ; the Constitution had been formed, 
and the government changed from a loose 
confederacy of well-nigh independent States 
to a strong centralized nation. The executive 
department was now under the control of one 
man, a president, and that president was his 
old neighbor and friend, the great and good 
George Washington. 

In 1789 President Washington granted 
Jefferson a leave of absence that he might 
visit America and look after his affairs in 
Virginia. He had been away for five years. 
His oldest daughter had grown to be a young 
lady. Little Maria had become a lovely, 
slender girl, suggesting to every one who had 
known her, her beautiful mother. 

173 



174 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

When the news of the master's coming 
reached Monticello there was great excitement 
among the slaves. They asked for a hoHday, 
and, arranging themselves in their best, men, 
women, and children went trooping down 
the mountain toward Shadwell to meet him. 
When, after long waiting, they saw his carriage 
in the distance, they rushed forward, shouting 
and waving their hats. At sight of his kind 
familiar face their joy passed all bounds. 

They must give some expression to their 
gladness, and, in spite of his remonstrances, 
they took the horses from the carriage, and, 
some pushing and others pulling the vehicle, 
and all very noisy and happy, they made quick 
time up the mountain. When Monticello was 
reached and Jefferson would have stepped from 
the carriage, he found himself seized in strong 
arms and borne on the men's shoulders to the 
house, while the women pressed near to touch 
his hands or at least his coat. 

Thomas Jefferson did not approve of hero 
worship, especially when he was the object; 
but he was deeply touched to find every human 



AT HOME ONCE MORE, 175 

being at his beloved Monticello so glad to have 
him home again. His daughters lost no time 
in renewing the friendships of childhood. It 
was December when they reached home. 

In the following February, Martha, who had 
grown to be all her father could wish, accom- 
plished, kind-hearted, with her father's own 
sweetness and serenity of temper, who in 
some measure deserved her father's enemy's 
warm praise that she was the '* sweetest woman 
in Virginia," married her second cousin, 
Thomas Man Randolph. Thus, by the mar- 
riage of their grand-children, were the families 
of the old friends, Peter Jefferson and William 
Randolph, united. 

Thomas Jefferson had scarcely set foot on 
American soil before he received a letter from 
President George Washington, offering him 
the position of Secretary of State. After some 
correspondence, Jefferson consented to take 
charge of the Department of State in Wash- 
ington's cabinet. It happened in this way 
that Jefferson did not return to France. 

On the first of March Thomas Jefferson 



I j6 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

started on his journey to New York, the seat 
of government. The roads were so bad that 
he sent his carriage by water and took the 
stage. That conveyance crept along so slowly 
through the snow and mud that he was two 
weeks going from Richmond to New York. 
He stopped at Philadelphia long enough to 
make a farewell visit to Dr. Benjamin Frank- 
lin, who was ill and approaching the end. 

Mr. Jefferson had left his younger daughter 
with her sister. His heart, judging from his 
letters, was much with his daughters. The 
following letters to eleven-year-old Maria 
show how lively an interest the great states- 
man took in their most feminine occupations 
and wishes : 

"New York, April ii, 1790. 

" Where are you, my dear Maria ? how do you do ? how 
are you occupied? Write me a letter by the first post, and 
answer me all these questions. Tell me whether you see the 
sun rise every day ? how many pages a day you read in Don 
Quixote ? how far you are advanced in him ? whether you 
repeat a grammar lesson every day ? what else you read ? 
how many hours a day you sew ? whether you have an oppor- 
tunity of continuing your music ? 

" Whether you know how to make a pudding yet? to sow 



AT HOME ONCE MORE. 1 77 

spinach ? or to set a hen ? Be good, my dear, as I have always 
found you ; never be angry with anybody, nor speak harsh of 
them ; try to let everybody's faults be forgotten, as you would 
wish yours to be ; take more pleasure in giving what is best 
to another than in having it yourself, and then all the world 
will love you, and I more than all the world. 

" If your sister is with you, kiss her, and tell her how much 
I love her also, and present my affections to Mr. Randolph- 
Love your aunt and uncle and be dutiful and obliging to them 
for all their kindness to you. What would you do without 
them and with such a vagrant for a father ? Say to both of 
them a thousand affectionate things for me; and adieu, my 

dear Maria. 

"Th. Jefferson." 

" Philadelphia, April 24, 1791. 

*' I have received, my dear Maria, your letter of March the 
twenty-sixth ; I find I have counted too much on you as a 
Botanical and Zoological correspondent, for I undertook to 
affirm here that the fruit was not killed in Virginia, because I 
had a young daughter there who was in that kind of corre- 
spondence with me, and who, I was sure, would have mentioned 
it if it had been so. However, I shall go on communicating 
to you whatever may contribute to a comparative estimate of 
the true climate, in hopes it will induce you to do the same 
to me. 

" Instead of waiting to send the two veils for your sister and 
yourself round with the other things, I will inclose them with 
this letter. Observe that one of the strings is to be drawn 



1 78 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

tight round the root of the crown of the hat, and the veil 
then falHng over the brim of the hat is drawn by the longer 
string as tight or as loose as you please round the neck. 

'* When the veil is not chosen to be down, the lower string 
is also tied round the root of the crown, so as to give the 
appearance of a puffed bandage for the hat. I send also the 
green hning for the calash. J. Eppes is arrived here. Present 
my affections to Mr. R., your sister, and niece." 

" Yours with tender love, 

" Th. Jefferson." 

"April 5, Apricots in bloom, cherry leafing. 
" 9, Peach in blossom, apple leafing. 
" II, Cherry leafing." 

While writing to little Maria in this careful 
style, Jefferson was not a little troubled by the 
way affairs at the Capital were running. As 
he had been abroad for five years he was at 
a disadvantage in the president's cabinet con- 
cerning many domestic matters. The brilliant 
Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, 
knew all the questions before the American 
public, the disagreements in Congress, the 
sides taken by leading men, the feeling in 
different sections of the country in regard to 



AT HOME ONCE MORE. 1 79 

political issues, as well as a good chess player 
knows the disposition of his chess men. 

He met Jefferson cordially and presented 
matters to him in such a light that Jefferson 
used his influence to have the South consent 
to the assumption by Congress of the debts 
of the several States, in return for which con- 
cession to the North, the North granted the 
South the seat of national government. When 
Jefferson became aware of the true situation, 
and knew the feeling of the Southern people 
upon the matter he regretted that he had been 
so ready to take Hamilton's view of the case. 

Once on his guard, he was not again misled. 
There were then, besides the president, only 
four members of the cabinet. It was Wash- 
ington's wish to have both political parties 
represented there. Though himself, like Ham- 
ilton, a Federalist, he had known Jefferson's 
Antifederalistic tendency when he urged him 
to become Secretary of State. 

The natural inclination of the people to 
think of the past as better than the present, 
and the horrors of the French Revolution, 



l8o THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

produced in America a strong reaction against 
popular government. Many openly declared 
their distrust of a republic and their preference 
for a monarchy. 

One political party was in favor of a strongly 
centralized government, of diminishing the 
powers of the State government, and increas- 
ing the powers of the national government; 
and of enlarging the powers of the national 
executive. Jefferson's theoretical disapproval 
of undemocratic government had been con- 
firmed by the state of society he had found 
in France. 

He watched over, with a jealous eye, what he 
regarded as the safeguards of democracy, 
freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the 
rights of the several States, and the equality 
in power of the legislative, the judicial, and 
the executive departments of government. 
He became the recognized leader of the Anti- 
federalist party. He preferred to call it ' the 
Republican party, and it w^as for a time so 
designated; but that name has since been 
used to distinguish the party that continues 



AT HOME ONCE MORE. l8l 

the policy of the Federalists, while Jefferson's 
party is known as the Democratic party. 

Jefferson was as unyielding in the cabinet as 
Hamilton. He was unwilling to act against 
his convictions ; at the same time he realized 
that the president was in sympathy with 
Hamilton's measures and that he gained little 
by opposition. He sought again and again to 
withdraw from a position fraught with much 
friction and bitterness. 

Washington valued Jefferson highly and 
urged him to continue in office. It was not 
until the close of 1793 that he was permitted 
to resign. In 1796 he was recalled to political 
life as the presidential candidate of the 
Republican party. John Adams, who had been 
vice-president during Washington's presi- 
dency, was elected by a majority of three votes. 

As the law stood, the candidate receiving 
the second highest number of votes was vice- 
president. As Jefferson had received a larger 
number of votes than the Federalist candidate 
for the vice-presidency, he, though of the 
opposing political party, became vice-president. 



1 8 2 THOMA S JEFFERS ON. 

Again he went to the national capital, this time 
at Philadelphia, Pa. 

When Adams' administration was drawing 
to a close he was chosen by his party as 
presidential candidate, and Jefferson was a 
second time named by the Antifederalists. 
Aaron Burr was candidate for the vice-presi- 
dency on the same ticket. The campaign was 
a bitter one. Jefferson's opponents did not 
hesitate shamelessly to attack his character. 
He was called anarchist and atheist. He was 
charged with insults to Washington, his friend, 
and the nation's idol. He could not pass 
over in quiet the accusation that he had been 
a robber of widows and orphans, but to most 
charges, however revolting, he returned only 
dignified silence. 

When the campaign was over and votes 
were counted it was found that the Re- 
publicans had won. But here again was an 
embarrassing situation. Jefferson and Burr 
had both received the same number of votes. 
It would seem quite natural that as Jefferson 
had been the candidate for the first place, he 



AT HOME ONCE MORE. 1 83 

would receive it without question. But Con- 
gress spent many days in deciding the matter. 
At last, however, only a few days before the 
time for inauguration, Jefferson was pronounced 
president and Aaron Burr, vice-president. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
PRESIDENT. 

Washington City, on the Potomac, had 
become the seat of government in June, 1800, 
and Thomas Jefferson was the first president 
to be inaugurated there. At that time there 
was Httle in Washington to deserve the name 
of city. Some of the government buildings 
were erected, but they rose in their beauty, 
solitary, in the midst of the wilderness. 

Walcott describes in rather a gloomy way 
the national capital as follows : 

"The capitol is situated on an eminence, 
which I should suppose was near the center 
of the immense country here called the city. 
It is a mile and a half from the President's 
house, and three miles on a straight line from 
Georgetown. There is one good tavern, about 
forty rods from the Capitol, and several other 

houses are built or erecting ; but I do not see 

184 



PRESIDENT. 185 

how the members of Congress can possibly 
secure lodgings, unless they will consent to 
live like scholars in a college, or monks in a 
monastery, crowded ten or twelve in one house, 
and utterly secluded from society. 

** There are, in fact, but few houses in any one 
place, and most of them small, miserable huts, 
which present an awful contrast to the public 
buildings, — you may look in almost any direc- 
tion, over an extent of ground nearly as large 
as the city of New York, without seeing a fence 
or any object except brick-kilns and temporary 
huts for laborers." 

After announcing *'we want nothing here 
but houses, cellars, kitchens, well-informed 
men, amiable women, and other little trifles of 
this kind to make our city perfect," Gouverneur 
Morris gave a friend the following amusing 
recommendation of the capital city : " I assure 
you that freestone is very abundant here ; that 
excellent brick can be burned here ; that there 
is no want of sites for magnificent hotels; that 
contemplated canals can bring a vast commerce 
to this place ; that the wealth, which is the 



1 86 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

natural consequence, must attract the fine arts 
hither; in short, that it is the very best city 
in the world for a future residence." 

Mrs. Adams, in a letter to an intimate friend, 
complains of the great unfinished White 
House, ''requiring about thirty servants to 
attend and keep the apartments in proper 
order," without wood enough for fires, and 
tells how she uses the great audience room 
for drying clothes. 

Though Adams and Jefferson had been good 
friends in the past and were again in their old 
age to be good friends, at the time of Jeffer- 
son's inauguration the feeling between them 
was far from friendly. Jefferson resented 
Adams' making at the very close of his 
administration an appoinment so important as 
that of chief justice of the supreme court, 
and giving that office to John Marshall, a 
known political opponent of Jefferson. 

He resented, too, Adams' making the most 
of every moment of his time to fill minor 
judicial offices with Federalists. He took 
measures to have a stop put to these appoint- 



PRESIDENT. 187 

ments promptly at midnight on the night 
before his inauguration. President Adams did 
not stay to participate in the inauguration 
ceremonies, but left the city early in the day. 
This was unfortunate. 

There was not a little anxiety in the country 
over this first transfer of power from the tried 
Federalist party to the untried Republicans. 
And it would have been well had the leading 
Federalist acted with the tolerance advocated 
by Jefferson in his inaugural address. He 
said in part : '* This being now decided by the 
voice of the nation, announced according to 
the rules of the Constitution, all will, of course, 
arrange themselves under the will of the law, 
and unite in common effort for the common 
good. All, too, will bear in mind this sacred 
principle, that though the will of the majority 
is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful, 
" must be reasonable ; that the minority possess 
their equal rights, which equal laws must 
protect, and to violate which would be 
oppression. 

"Let us, then, fellow citizens, unite with one 



1 88 THOMAS JEFFERSON, 

heart and one mind. Let us restore to social 
intercourse that harmony and affection without 
which Hberty and even Hfe itself are but dreary 
things. And let us reflect that having banished 
from our land that religious intolerance under 
which mankind so long bled and suffered, we 
have yet gained little if we countenance a 
political intolerance as despotic, as wicked, and 
capable of as bitter and bloody persecutions — 
every difference of opinion is not a difference 
of principle. 

*' We have called by different names brethren 
of the same principle. We are all Re- 
publicans, we are all Federalists. If there are 
any among us who would wish to dissolve 
this Union, or to change its republican form, 
let them stand undisturbed as momuments of 
the safety with which error of opinion may be 
tolerated where reason is left free to combat it. 

"I know, indeed, that some honest men fear 
that a republican government cannot be 
strong; that this government is not strong 
enough. I believe, on the contrary, that this 
is the strongest government on the earth. I 



PRESIDENT. 1 89 

believe it is the only one where every man, at 
the call of the laws, would fly to the standard 
of the law, and would meet invasions of the 
public order as his own personal concern. 

"Sometimes it is said that man cannot be 
trusted with the government of himself Can 
he then be trusted with the government of 
others?" 

Now it seems strange that there ever 
should have been need for a president of the 
United States to say these things. Jefferson 
had disapproved of what he considered an 
undemocratic ceremoniousness in the attitude 
of his predecessors. 

He wished the American people not to 
regard their presidents with the awe that 
subjects of despotic monarchs feel for their 
sovereigns, but to give them merely such 
respect as is due to every honorable, law- 
abiding citizen. It was his wish that his inaug- 
uration should be without display. Plainly 
dressed and unattended he went to the capitol 
and delivered his address in a scarcely audible 
tone of voice. 



190 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

As both of President Jefferson's daughters 
were married he had neither of them to pre- 
side over the White House. Here he kept 
house in an abundant and hospitable fashion. 
He had a French cook, well-trained servants, 
and his table was bountifully served. His 
household expenses were about fifty dollars a 
day. His house was open to guests of all 
degrees. 

Perfectly accessible, the new president 
received the lowly or the mighty as his 
equals, with entire informality. So desirous 
was he not to err on the side of aristocratic 
exclusiveness and respect for rank that he 
went to the other extreme, and *'Jeffersonian 
simplicity" came near to making serious 
trouble. Dressed like a farmer, he received 
pompous foreign officials with as much infor- 
mality as if they were his neighbors. 

At his parties and at his dinners all guests 
were on an equal footing. Special honor was 
shown to no one. No man waited for another 
unless his inner sense of courtesy and the 
fitness of things prompted him to do so. This 



PRESIDENT. 191 

gave great offence to those who were accus- 
tomed to be treated with deference. It was not 
because President Jefferson was discourteous to 
the wife of the British ambassador, but because 
he was equally courteous to Mrs. Brown and 
Mrs. Smith, that the world was shocked. 

Society was not ready for any such innova- 
tions ; much resentment and bitterness grew 
out of his democratic style of entertainment. 
President Jefferson, after giving it a fair trial, 
abandoned it for a somewhat more conven- 
tional deportment. 

In his management of public affairs Presi- 
dent Jefferson overcame the general distrust 
in Republicanism, and won the confidence of 
the people to such an extent that he was 
almost unanimously elected to a second term. 

He was, indeed, urgently pressed, even by 
those with whom he had once been regarded 
as a dangerous theorist, to be a candidate for 
a third term. He had always advocated 
frequent rotation in the office of chief executive 
and opposed repeated re-elections. He, there- 
fore, firmly refused to consider a third term 



192 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

and lent his support to Madison, who had 
been his Secretary of State. 

President Jefferson's administration was not 
an untroubled one. As he had anticipated, 
he found the judicial and the executive 
branches of government in frequent conflict. 
The friction between the president and chief 
justice reached a crisis in the trial of Aaron 
Burr for treason, when the chief executive 
refused to answer the summons of the chief 
justice to appear as a witness. 

While President, Jefferson found the power 
he had done so much to foster — the right of 
the individual State — asserting itself against 
him in no pleasant manner. When the British 
outrages against American seamen culminated 
in the LeopanV s attack on the Chesapeake, 
and the British government refused to give 
satisfaction, President Jefferson recommended 
the passage of the "Embargo Act." Congress 
acted upon his suggestion and all the American 
ports were closed against the British. Some 
of the States rebelled against this measure as 
unconstitutional. 



PRESIDENT. 193 

One of the most notable achievements of 
President Jefferson's administration, the Louis- 
iana Purchase, surpassed the constitutional 
rights of the chief executive. Of this no 
man was more painfully aware than President 
Jefferson. He saw his opportunity to gain for 
the new country a vast rich territory that he 
foresaw would one day be needed by it. He 
found no authority in the Constitution to act 
in the matter. 

He must either exceed his chartered author- 
ity and so establish what he deemed a 
dangerous precedent, or he must let pass an 
opportunity to incalculably benefit his coun- 
try. To make the decision he made required 
courage and confidence in the future of the 
new republic. With the great ''World's Fair," 
held in St. Louis in the summer of 1904 to 
celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the 
" Louisiana Purchase," fresh in the nation's 
mind, we cannot doubt posterity's commenda- 
tion of his act. 

Having bought the land from its French 
owners, President Jeft'erson had no disposition 
13 



194 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

to ignore the Indians claims thereto. He had 
taken a genuine interest in the Indians since 
the days of his boyhood when he saw the 
chiefs made welcome in his father's house. He 
had studied their customs and their languages, 
and deserved the confidence they had in him 
as their friend. His attitude toward them was 
more philanthropic and more just than that of 
many other American statesmen. 

As the time approached for President Jeffer- 
son to retire from office his countrymen sought 
to express their appreciation of his work by 
sending him ''addresses." These addresses came 
from all parts of the country. The people 
of his own county summed up his services 
in this way : 

** We have to thank you for the model of an 
administration conducted on the purest prin- 
ciples of republicanism ; for pomp and state 
laid aside ; patronage discarded ; internal taxes 
abolished ; a host of superfluous offices dis- 
banded ; the monarchic maxim that a national 
debt is a national blessing renounced, and 
more than thirty-three millions of our debt 



PRESIDENT. 195 

discharged; the natives' right to near one 
hundred milHons of acres of our national 
domain extinguished ; and without the guilt 
or calamities of conquest, a vast and fertile 
region added to our country, far more extensive 
than her original possessions, bringing along 
with it the Mississippi and the port of Orleans, 
the trade of the West to the Pacific Ocean, 
and in the intrinsic value of the land itself, a 
source of permanent and almost inexhaustible 
revenue. 

"These are points in your administration 
which the historian will not fail to seize, to 
expand, and teach posterity to dwell upon 
with delight. Nor will he forget our peace 
with the civilized world, preserved through a 
season of uncommon difficulty and trial ; the 
good will cultivated with the unfortunate 
aborigines of our country and the civilization 
humanely extended among them; the lesson 
taught the inhabitants of the coast of Barbary, 
that we have the means of chastising their 
piratical encroachments, and awing them into 
justice; and that theme, which, above all 



196 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

others, the historic genius will hang upon with 
rapture, the liberty of speech and the press 
preserved inviolate, without which genius and 
science are given to man in vain." 

President Jefferson in his eight years as 
president made so admirable a record as to 
firmly establish republicanism in this country. 



CHAPTER IX. 
THE SAGE OF MONTICELLO. 

Thomas Jefferson was now sixty-five 
years old. His political work was done. The 
patriot was at liberty to give place to the 
farmer, the philosopher, the scholar, the man ; 
and Jefferson was free to enjoy the pleasures 
of books and nature and the companionship 
of those who were left of the ones he had 
loved. 

Maria had died, and of his children Martha 
Randolph only was living. She, however, 
"the sweetest woman in Virginia," with her 
husband and large family of boys and girls, 
came to Monticello to keep loneliness from 
her father's hearth. When she asked him how 
he wished to live, he answered, " As a plain 
country gentleman." And, truly, he looked the 

part, riding about his estate in his unpretentious 

197 



198 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

gray riding dress, on a horse that any horse- 
loving Virginian might covet. 

That is what he was taken to be by the old 
man who stood at the ford one morning when 
Jefferson rode up with a party of friends. The 
stranger eyed each rider who passed him till 
the ex-president approached. Saluting re- 
spectfully, he asked, " Sir, will your horse carry 
double across the river?" Jefferson stopped 
instantly and bade the old man mount behind 
him. 

After they were all across the stream, one of 
the party, amused at the adventure, fell back 
and asked the old man, *' Why did you single 
out the man in gray to give you a ride ?" " Oh," 
said the old man, " I was sure by his looks 
that he would not refuse." 

It was Jefferson's custom to ride often and 
far, sometimes accompanied by a friend, but 
more often alone. At such times he hummed 
or sang happily to himself. He always had 
a courteous greeting for those he met. On 
one occasion his nephew received from him a 
rebuke that he did not soon forget. While 



THE SAGE OF MONTICELLO. 1 99 

riding with his uncle one morning the young 
man neglected to respond to the greeting of a 
slave who passed them on the road. "What," 
said Jefferson, " do you allow a servant to be 
more of a gentleman than you?" 

Jefferson had never lost interest in farming 
and in improving his estate. He found his 
farm sadly in need of attention, and was 
glad to give it his personal supervision. His 
powerful mind was as fertile in ideas for 
improving a farm as for building a nation. 
He had invented a plow. He had both a 
carpenter and a blacksmith shop where, with 
his own hands, he had contrived innumerable 
labor-saving devices. 

He also had a shop where his slaves made 
nails. Nails were then all made by hand. 
Nailmaking and woodcutting were more profit- 
able pursuits at Monticello in those days than 
raising tobacco and wheat. The land was 
impoverished. Besides, the war of 1812 and 
the troubles that had led to it had disturbed 
and well-nigh destroyed American commerce, 
and there was no market for the produce of 



200 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

Virginia. In spite of his utmost care Jefferson 
found farming a losing business. 

Still, he worked persistently, repairing, build- 
ing, improving, experimenting. In many of 
his letters to his daughters and to his neigh- 
bors and nephews he had urged upon them 
the importance of always being busy. He 
was himself one of the most industrious of 
men. His old overseer said that he had 
found Jefferson sitting unemployed only twice 
in his life, and then he was suffering from 
headache. 

He believed in early rising, and declared 
near the close of his life that five o'clock had 
not found him in bed for fifty years. He 
superintended the work on his estate in detail; 
he carried on an enormous correspondence ; 
he kept most elaborate account and note books ; 
he read and studied diligently, and he directed 
the studies of many young people of his 
acquaintance. 

But all of his employments were not of a 
serious or laborious sort. This letter from a 
granddaughter, shows us a charming side of 



THE SAGE OF MONTICELLO. 201 

his life at Monticello: ''I cannot describe the 
feehngs of veneration, admiration, and love 
that existed in my heart toward him. I looked 
upon him as a being too great and good for 
my companionship ; and yet I felt no fear to 
approach him, and be taught by him some of 
the childish sports that I delighted in. 

"When he walked in the garden and would 
call the children to go with him, we raced 
after and before him, and we were made per- 
fectly happy by this permission to accompany 
him. Not one of us in our wildest moods 
ever placed a foot on one of the garden-beds, 
for that would violate one of his rules, and 
yet I never heard him utter a harsh word to 
one of us, or speak in a raised tone of voice, 
or use a threat. 

"He simply said 'do' or * do not' He 
would gather fruit for us, seek out the ripest 
figs, or bring down the cherries from on high 
above our heads with a long stick, at the end 
of which was a hook and a little net bag. One 
of our earliest amusements was in running 
races on the terrace or around the lawn. He 



202 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

placed us according to our ages, giving the 
youngest and smallest the start of all the 
others by some yards, and then he raised his 
arm high with his white handkerchief in his 
hand, on which our eager eyes were fixed, and 
slowly counted three, at which number he 
dropped the handkerchief and we started off to 
finish the race by returning to the starting 
place and receiving our reward of dried fruit — 
three figs, prunes, or dates to the victor, two 
to the second, and one to the lagger, who came 
in last. These were our summer sports with 
him. 

** On winter evenings, when it grew too dark 
to read, in the half hour that passed before 
candles came in, as we all sat around the fire, 
he taught us several childish games, and 
would play them with us. I remember that 
* Cross questions ' and * I love my love with 
an A' were two I learned from him ; and we 
would teach some of ours to him. 

"When the candles were brought, all was 
quiet immediately, for he took up his book to 
read, and we would not speak above a whisper 



THE SAGE OF MONTICELLO. 203 

lest we should disturb him, and generally we 
followed his example and took a book, and I 
have seen him raise his eyes from his own 
book and look round on the little circle of 
readers, smile, and make some remarks to 
mamma about it. 

** When the snow fell we would go out as 
soon as it stopped to clear it off the terraces 
with shovels, that he might have his usual walk 
on them without treading in snow. He often 
gave us little presents. I remember his giving 
us * Parent's Assistant,' and that we drew 
lots, and that she who drew the longest straw 
had the first reading of the book — the next 
longest straw entitled the drawer to the second 
reading — the shortest, to the last reading and 
the ownership of the book. One day I was 
passing hastily through the glass door from 
the hall to the portico ; there was a broken 
pane which caught my muslin dress and tore it 
sadly. 

"Grandpapa was standing by and saw the 
disaster. A few days after he came into 
mamma's sitting room with a bundle in his 



204 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

hand, and said to me, ' I have been mending 
your dress for you.' He had himself selected 
for me another beautiful dress." Indeed, there 
was much simple happiness in the life at 
Monticello. Jefferson could not altogether 
escape, however, the penalties of fame. 

He had more than a convenient number of 
letters to answer and guests to entertain. He 
did not wish himself to be made a hero. 
Again and again people of various States 
sought to celebrate his birthday, but he firmly 
though courteously refused to disclose the 
date of his birth. The citizens of his neigh- 
borhood wanted to give him a grand welcome 
home when he came back from Washing- 
ton — he could not be sure of the date of his 
arrival. 

A French friend, after visiting him, sent him 
a wreath of immortels to crown the head of 
a fine bust of himself that adorned his hall I 
on receiving it Jefferson wound it around the 
brow of a statue in his hall, but the statue was 
that of Washington. Yet there was a sort of 
tribute that it was not his nature to reject. 



THE SAGE OF MONTICELLO. 20$ 

When men came from all parts of America 
and from across the seas to visit him, the sage 
of Monticello made them welcome to the best 
he had. No one was content to leave that 
part of the country without climbing the wind- 
ing road that lead to the grassy summit of the 
forest-covered mountain. The view of valley, 
mountain, and plain, the sight of the wierd 
"looming" mountain that now seemed a 
square, now a cylinder, now an inverted cone, 
would have rewarded one for the time and 
effort. 

The beautiful house and grounds, the gay 
flower-beds, the well-proportioned mansion 
with its pillored portico, were worth seeing. 
The great hall with its curiosities, the bones 
of the mammoth and splendid trophies from 
the far west, its good pictures, its statues and 
busts, would have interested many. The 
student would have enjoyed looking over that 
wonderful collection of books that overflowed 
from the library into almost every room in the 
house. But all these together would not have 
satisfied the pilgrims who climbed Monticello 



206 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

SO well as a glimpse of the tall, gray-haired, 
mild-mannered old man who lived there. 

Among the truly welcome of the hundreds 
that visited Monticello, was the aged La- 
Fayette. Both because of the love they bore 
each other and because of all they had thought 
and done for the cause of democratic govern- 
ment, the meeting was most significant. 

Even in his old age Jefferson found opportun- 
ities to serve his country. Perhaps his proudest 
and most satisfying possession was his vast 
collection of books gathered from all parts of 
the world, through a long life. There was 
not to be found anywhere so complete and 
valuable a mass of information about America. 
When the Congressional Library was des- 
troyed in the war of 1812, Jefferson generously 
offered to Congress his own library, and ac- 
tually sold it for the nominal sum of some 
twenty-three thousand dollars. 

The favorite enterprise of Jefferson's declin- 
ing years was the establishment of the State 
University in Virginia. He interested many 
prominent men, among them his friend 



THE SAGE OF MONTICELLO. 20/ 

Madison, in the movement, but he was him- 
self ever the heart and soul of it He made 
the plans for the beautiful quadrangle of classic 
buildings, supervised personally their erection^ 
chose the professors, planned a most democratic 
system of government both for faculty and for 
students, and was, in very truth, as he called 
himself, the father of the University of Vir- 
ginia. This was the crowning work of his 
rich, full life. 

As the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of 
the Declaration of Independence approached, 
Jefferson fell ill and was obliged to decline 
the invitation to take part in the great celebra- 
tion to be held in Washington. And at noon 
on that day of national rejoicing, the Fourth of 
July, 1826, the author of the Declaration of 
Independence breathed his last. 

The staunch champion of that Declaration, 
John Adams, lay dying on the same day in 
his northern home. His last words were : 
"Thomas JefTerson still survives." In some 
senses may we not truthfully repeat those 
words to-day ? 



A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

OF 

ANDREW JACKSON 




GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON 



THE STORY OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

By H. W. ELSON. 



BIRTH AND BOYHOOD OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

In 1765, two years after the French and 
Indian War had closed, a man named Andrew 
Jackson, with his good wife and two bright 
little boys named Hugh and Robert, came 
from the north of Ireland and settled in South 
Carolina. 

They landed at the port of Charleston and 
made a long journey through the wilderness, 
one hundred and sixty miles to the northwest. 

They came to a settlement, called the Wax- 
haw Settlement, after a tribe of Indians of 
that name. 

Here Mr. Jackson made his home. He was 
not a rich man, but had means enough left to 
purchase a little farm, on which he built a little 
log-house and began to clear away the forest. 

The family rejoiced to have a home of their 
own though it was a rude one. In his native 
country Mr. Jackson had been only a tenant, 



212 • ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

and his wife had helped support the family by 
weaving linen. 

Now they owned their home and looked for- 
ward to a long, happy life. 

But their happiness in their forest-home was 
soon to be ended, and their family life broken 
up forever. Scarcely had they been two years 
in their new abode when Mr. Jackson's health 
gave way ; he became ill and soon died. 

On the sad day of the funeral Mrs. Jack- 
son's brother-in-law took her and her two little 
sons to his own home, a short distance away ; 
and here a few days later, on the fifteenth of 
March, 1767, another child was born into the 
family. 

The new baby was a boy, and his mother 
named him Andrew, after his dead father. 

The home of the Jacksons was in South 
Carolina, very near the State line; but the 
house of this relative was just across the line in 
Union County, North Carolina, and it was here 
that the future president was born. 

Mrs. Jackson was thus left with three little 
fatherless boys, and for them she must care as 
best she could ; but she was a noble woman. 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 2 1 3 

brave and industrious, and she left nothing 
undone that she could do for her children. 

Hugh and Robert were soon old enough to 
help earn the living, and with what they could 
do and what the mother could earn at her spin- 
ning-wheel, they managed to live with comfort. 

During the long winter evenings the broth- 
ers would often sit at their mothers knee 
and hear her tell of the oppression of the poor 
in Ireland, of their long voyage across the 
ocean to their new home in the widerness, and 
of their brave and generous father, whom 
Andrew had never seen. 

Mrs. Jackson was a devout Christian, and 
she desired that one of her sons should be- 
come a minister. 

Her choice fell upon Andrew, and he was 
sent to school in a little log meeting-house in 
a pine forest near their home. 

Here he spent a few months each year for 
several years, while his faithful mother earned 
enough to pay his expenses by spinning flax. 
Andrew learned readily, and was soon able 
to read and write. 

He was very fond of sports, especially riding, 



214 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

hunting, and wrestling, nor was there a boy to 
be found in all that region so full of courage 
as he. 



11. 

JACKSON IN THE REVOLUTION. 

While our young hero was attending school 
the Revolutionary War broke out, and many a 
brave colonist left his home and dear ones to 
lay down his life on the battle-field. 

But the South was not greatly harassed 
until near the close of the war. In 1780 the 
city of Charleston was captured by the British, 
and Lord Cornwallis passed through the Caro- 
linas and laid waste the country. 

In May of that year Colonel Tarleton, one 
of the most vicious and inhuman of the Brit- 
ish raiders, came right through the Waxhaw 
Settlement, suprised a camp of militia, and 
killed and wounded more than two hundred. 

The old meeting-house was now turned into 
a hospital, and Mrs. Jackson and her two sons 
became nurses and did all in their power to 
care for the wounded. 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 2 1 5 

I say her two sons, for there were now but 
two ; the oldest boy Hugh had joined the army 
some time before, and, after fighting in the battle 
of Stono, had died of heat and exhaustion. 

It was here while caring for the wounded 
that the heart of Andrew Jackson was fired 
with a love of his country and a hatred of 
its foes that burned in his bosom as long as 
he lived. 

Before the summer was over he and his 
brother Robert took up arms and joined the 
Patriot army. Andrew was only thirteen years 
old, but almost as tall as a man and as brave 
as a lion. 

For nearly a year the Patriots and Tories 
carried on war with each other, and there were 
many deeds of cruelty. 

The Tories did not belong to the English 
army ; they lived in America, but favored 
the English side and fought against the 
Patriots. 

By and by Cornwallis, hearing that there 
were so many Patriots at Waxhaw, sent a body 
of troops to assist the Tories. 

Forty of the Patriots, including the two Jack- 



2 1 6 ANDRE W JACKSON. 

son boys, assembled in the old meeting-house 
to prepare for defence, but a Tory told the 
troops where they were, and eleven of the forty 
were captured, the rest escaping, mostly on 
horseback. 

The Jackson brothers both escaped, but in 
different directions. Andrew had a companion 
in his flight, Thomas Crawford, his cousin. 

The two galloped along at headlong speed, 
hotly pursued by the British, till they came to 
a swamp into which they plunged. His cousin 
was taken captive in the swamp, but Andrew 
gained the other side and soon left his ene- 
mies behind. 

Toward evening as he was riding along in 
the lonely forest he saw some one in the dis- 
tance, and, on looking carefully, found it to 
be his brother Robert. 

What a happy meeting it must have been, 
for neither of them knew, before they met, that 
the other was alive ! That night was spent by 
these two brothers under the bank of a little 
creek. 

When morning came they were almost 
starved. Leaving their horses they crept slyly 



ANDREW J A CKSON. 2 1 7 

to a farm-house to ask for food, but an enemy 
saw them and gave the alarm. 

The house was soon surrounded by English 
soldiers and the two brave lads were made 
prisoners. 

I am sorry to have to tell you how these sol- 
diers acted. There was no one in the house but 
a woman and her little children, besides the 
two captured boys ; but these soldiers, acting 
more like brutes than men, broke to pieces all 
the furniture in the house, tore up the bedding 
and clothing — even the clothing of the baby 
in the mother's arms. 

While this was going on, the brutal officer 
in command ordered Andrew Jackson to clean 
his boots. Andrew answered: '*Sir, I am a 
prisoner of war, and claim to be treated as 
such." 

At these words the man drew his sword and 
struck a terrible blow at the boy's head, but 
Andrew saved his life by throwing up his 
hand. 

His hand was badly cut, and he also re- 
ceived a severe wound in his head, the scars 
of which remained to the end of his life. 



2 I 8 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

The officer now turned to Robert and or- 
dered him to clean the boots, but he also re- 
fused, when the officer struck him with his 
sword and made a terrible gash in his head 
which afterward caused the boy's death. 

They were then placed on horses and taken 
to Camden, forty miles away, and during the 
long journey they were allowed nothing to eat 
nor to drink. At Camden they were thrown 
into prison with about two hundred and fifty 
other prisoners. 

Here they spent several weeks without hav- 
ing their wounds dressed, without beds, and 
with no food but bad bread. 

There was one whose efforts to get the two 
brothers out of prison never ceased, and that 
was their loving mother. 

At length she succeeded, but when she met 
her boys she hardly knew them, so haggard 
and weak they had become. They were in the 
first stages of small-pox, which had broken out 
in the prison. 

The doctors did not know in those days 
how to treat this disease as they do now, and 
many a poor captive died of it in the prison. 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 2 1 9 

The wound in Robert's head had not healed, 
and when set free he was unable to walk. His 
mother had two horses there and he was put 
on one of them, but he could not sit alone 
and two friends had to hold him during all 
that journey of forty miles to their home. 

The mother rode the other horse, and An- 
drew walked behind without hat or shoes and 
at the same time suffering with the small-pox. 

It was a long, terrible journey. A rain- 
storm overtook them on the way and their suf- 
ferings were increased. When at last they 
reached home, they were utterly exhausted, 
and poor Robert died within two days. 

Andrew had a long siege of sickness, and, 
for a time, lost his mind ; but the loving care 
of a tender mother brought him back to 
health though it was many months before he 
had fully recovered. 

What a noble woman was Mrs. Jackson! 
She had lost two sons and almost the third in 
defence of her country ; but she was not one 
to sit down and say that she had done enough. 
She could not rest when there was suffering 
around her. 



2 20 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

Hearing that the prisoners in the British ships 
at Charleston were in great distress, and some 
of them being her neighbors, she resolved to 
do what she could. 

She left her boy with friends and made the 
long journey, one hundred and sixty miles, 
that she might minister to the wants of those 
in distress. 

She truly believed the Saviour's words: 
" Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the 
least of these, ye have done it unto me." 

Andrew Jackson never again saw his mother. 
She gave her own life, as well as that of her 
sons, to the cause of her country. 

When about to return home she was seized 
with a fatal fever and soon died. She w^as 
buried near the place where she died, and only 
God knows her burial-place. 

Her son Andrew searched for her grave in 
after years, but he never could find it. 



ANDREW JACKSON. 221 

III. 
JOURNEY TO THE FAR WEST, 

Andrew Jackson was thus left without 
parents or near relatives while still a boy, only 
fourteen years of age. 

But he never forgot his beloved mother and 
the lessons she had taught him. He loved 
to speak of her as long as he lived. 

Her life was so pure and so unselfish, her 
character so firm, so lovable, and so kind that 
her image was forever imprinted on his soul. 

Above all did she impress upon his mind a 
reverence for truth and child-like trust in God. 

Many years after, when he had become a 
great man, he would often quote some homely 
saying when in the heat of an argument, and 
then remark: ''That I learned from my dear 
old mother." 

What a blessing for a boy to have a good 
mother. Many a boy who has such a mother 
does not honor her as he should. 

For several years Andrew Jackson remained 
in the Waxhaw Settlement. He taught school 



222 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

for two or three years. His education was 
not what is now required of school-teachers. 
No doubt many a boy twelve years old now 
knows more than he did. 

When he was eighteen he decided to be- 
come a lawyer, and made a long journey to 
Salisbury, North Carolina. Here he entered 
the law office of Mr. McCay, one of the lead- 
ing lawyers of the State, and remained with 
him for two years. 

In 1788 there was a party leaving North 
Carolina for the far west, as it was called — that 
is, for Tennessee. The land west of the 
Mississippi River did not then belong to the 
United States. Tennessee was not then a 
State. It belonged to North Carolina and was 
called Washington County. 

Mr. Jackson, who was now a lawyer, twenty- 
one years old, resolved to go with them. The 
journey was a long one through hundreds of 
miles of dense forest and over rugged moun- 
tains. 

There were many wild animals and sav- 
age Indians in the way ; but the men were 
strong and brave and they reached Nashville 



A NDRE W J A CKSON. 223 

in October. Nashville is now a beautiful city; 
then it was a small village of log-cabins. 

As soon as Mr. Jackson reached Nashville 
he became public prosecutor — that is, the law- 
yer who brings criminals to justice. 

Before he came there was no one there who 
had the courage to do this. Many of the men 
in the country refused to pay their debts, and 
when asked to do so they were insulted and 
wanted to fight. 

They often fought with pistol or knife. 
But Andrew Jackson was a hero, and when 
sent to arrest them, if they wished to fight him, 
he was always ready for them. 

He loved justice and right, and the law- 
breakers soon came to fear and hate him. 
Many a time his life was in danger from these 
men, but he always came out ahead in the end. 

One day a gang of ruffians, who had long 
defied the law, were arrested by Mr. Jackson. 

When they came into the court they became 
insolent and defiant and refused to be tried. 
Jackson instantly drew his pistols and called 
upon the good citizens to assist him. 

When the ruffians saw what kind of a man 



224 ANDREW JACKSON. 

they had to deal with they were awed and 
made no further trouble. They were then 
tried and punished according to law. 



IV. 

WILD LIFE IN TENNESSEE, 



Tennessee was a wild country one hundred 
years ago when Andrew Jackson first went 
there. It was like some of the mining regions 
of the Rocky Mountains at present. 

Many of the people were as rough and ig- 
norant as any of the cow-boys of our western 
prairies. 

Hostile Indians swarmed all around the 
settlers, and scarcely a week passed without 
some one being killed by them. Women and 
children never went away from home alone. 
The men all carried guns. 

If two men stopped in the road to talk, they 
would stand, each with his back to the other, 
one looking each way with rifle in hand 
ready for use. 

No one dared stoop to drink from a spring 
without having a comrade on guard. Boys and 



ANDRE W J A CKSON, 225 

girls could not go out berrying without the at- 
tendance of armed men. 

One dark, lonely night Mr. Jackson was 
riding through the woods alone in the heart of 
the Indian country. 

The rain had fallen for some hours, and he 
came to a stream that he could not ford. He 
did not dare to light a fire, lest the Indians 
should see it, nor even to let his horse move 
about to browse. 

So he took off the saddle, put it at the root 
of a tree, and sat upon it all night, holding the 
bridle in one hand and his rifle in the other. 

Thus he sat in silence, and when morn- 
ing dawned he mounted his horse and soon 
reached his home. 

At another time he travelled through the 
forest for sixty hours without sleeping, the 
Indians being on his trail. Then he wrapped 
himself in his blanket, lay down on the 
ground, and soon fell asleep. 

It was midwinter, and when he awoke in the 

morning he found that six inches of snow had 

fallen on him. But the Indians had lost his 

track and he escaped. 
15 



226 A NDRE W J A CKSON. 

Besides the Indians there were many white 
men who would defy the law and do as they 
pleased. A new country always attracts per- 
sons of this kind. There were many deeds of 
violence. 

Not only the law-breakers but the farmers 
and everybody were quick to resent an insult, 
and it was a common thing to see men or boys 
fighting. 

When two men got into a quarrel they 
would often settle the matter on the spot with 
pistol and knife, and sometimes one or both 
were killed. 

Any one living in such a country very 
long is almost sure to become like the rest 
of the people ; and so it was with Andrew 
Jackson. 

He lived many years in this wild, half-civ- 
ilized country, and we find him as ready 
as anyone to engage in a fight. 

There was very little money in Tennessee 
at this time, and the people had to use other 
things instead of money. They used sugar 
and the skins of animals and different kinds 
of liquors for money. 



A NDRE W J A CKSON. 2 2 7 

For example, a coon-skin or fox-skin was 
worth a half-gallon of whiskey or twelve 
pounds of sugar. Three coon-skins equalled 
a gallon of peach brandy, and four gallons of 
peach brandy were worth an otter-skin. The 
otter-skin was the most valuable piece of 
money they had. 

When large sums of money were to be paid, 
the soft money — that is, the liquor, was con- 
veyed in large jugs, and the hard money, the 
skins, in wooden boxes. 

To save the trouble of opening the box to 
count the money every time it changed hands 
the tail of each skin was left sticking out of 
a small opening for the purpose. 

But sometimes a dishonest person would fill 
his box with coon-skins with otter's-tails 
tacked on them and thus deceive the unwary. 

One of the worst features of social life a 
hundred years ago was duel fighting. When 
a man felt himself insulted by another, he 
would challenge him to fight a duel. 

Then they would meet on the field of honor, 
as they called it, stand some distance apart, 
and fire at each other with pistols. Sometimes 



228 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

they would use knives or swords. It often 
happened that one or both were killed or dis- 
abled. 

If a man refused to fight a duel, or did not 
send a challenge when insulted, he was 
called a coward, and was looked down upon 
by the people. Many took pride in the num- 
ber of duels they had fought. 

There was more duelling in a new settle- 
ment like Tennessee than elsewhere, but the 
practice existed in all the States. It had been 
introduced from Europe. 

It was by duelling that Alexander Hamil- 
ton, Stephen Decatur, Senator Broderic, and 
hundreds of others lost their lives. Andrew 
Jackson fought several duels, and at various 
times narrowly escaped being killed. 

With all his courage he had not the moral 
courage to defy public opinion and refuse to 
fight a duel. Happily this barbarous practice 
has almost entirely died out. 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 2 29 

V. 
JACKSON IN CONGRESS. 

In 1796 Tennessee became a State. At the 
close of the Revolutionary War there were 
but thirteen States in the Union„ The first 
to be admitted after this was Vermont. Ken- 
tucky came next. This made fifteen ; now 
Tennessee becomes the sixteenth State. 

Before a territory becomes a State the peo- 
ple elect men to meet and frame a constitution 
— that is, a writing which is to be the basis of 
the laws. 

Andrew Jackson was one of the men elected 
to make the Constitution of Tennessee. 
When this was done and the State was ad- 
mitted into the Union, the people elected Mr. 
Jackson to Congress. 

Congress is composed of two houses, first, 
the Senate, or Upper House, and second, the 
House of Representatives, or Lower House. 
It was the Lower House to which Jackson 
was elected. 

He now had a long journey to make, nearly 



2 30 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

eight hundred miles, to Philadelphia, where 
Congress then met. It was not until the year 
1800 that Congress met in Washington City. 

There were no railroads in those days, and 
Jackson had to make this journey on horse- 
back. It took about six weeks. 

As he crossed the mountains his mind must 
have gone back to the time, eight years before, 
when he had crossed the same mountains, 
seeking his fortune in the far western country. 

He reached Philadelphia in December just 
in time to hear President Washington make his 
last speech to Congress. It was the custom 
then for the President to speak sometimes be- 
fore Congress, but he never does so now. 

This was Jackson's first appearance in a 
great city. He must have looked like a true 
backwoodsman. He was described as a tall, 
lank, uncouth-looking person with long hair 
done up in a cue and tied at the back with 
an eel-skin. 

The only important thing that Jackson did 
in this Congress was to secure payment to the 
people of Tennessee for an expedition against 
the Indians three years before. 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 23 1 

The Indians had become so hostile that the 
people could not wait for orders from the gov- 
ernment, so they took their guns and drove 
the Indians back. Now they asked that the 
government pay them for this, as it did in 
other territories. 

Some were opposed to doing this ; but Jack- 
son stuck to it and won his case. The gov- 
ernment paid nearly twenty-three thousand 
dollars to the Tennessee Indian fighters. 

At the end of this session of Congress Jack- 
son went back to his home. Soon after this 
there was a vacancy from his State in the Sen- 
ate, and he was appointed to fill it. 

So the next year, 1797, when he went back to 
Philadelphia, he was a United States Senator. 
But Senator Jackson did not like the business 
of law-making, and he resigned from the Sen- 
ate within a year, returned to Tennessee, and 
became a private citizen. 



232 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

VI. 
JACKSON BECOMES A JUDGE. 

Soon after Jackson had left the Senate he 
became a store-keeper. He would purchase 
goods in Philadelphia and send them to Pitts- 
burg in wagons, a distance of three hundred 
and fifty miles ; from there they were sent down 
the Ohio River in flat-boats, and thence car- 
ried on pack-horses, through the wilderness, 
to Nashville. 

This was certainly keeping store under diffi- 
culties, and we can imagine that the store was 
not a very extensive one. 

But Jackson was not left long in private life. 
He was elected to a seat in the Supreme Court 
of the State. He did not desire to be a judge, 
but he had always said that a citizen should 
not seek nor decline public duty. He there- 
fore accepted because he felt it his duty to do 
so. 

He held the office several years, when he 
resigned. During this time he had to travel 
over the State and hold court in different towns, 



A NDRE W J A CKSON. 233 

and many were his thrilling adventures among 
those half-civilized people. 

The criminals and ruffians hated the judge, 
because they knew it was his business to deal 
justice and to punish them when they de- 
served it. 

A judge had to be a man of iron nerve, or 
the ruffians would intimidate him. Jackson 
was just such a man. When he was angry 
his eyes shone like fire and no criminal could 
stand before him. He loved justice and 
despised crime and the oppression of the 
poor. 

One of the most thrilling incidents in his 
life was at the trial of a criminal named Russell 
Bean. Bean was a very bad man ; he would 
commit almost any brutal crime ; he even cut 
off a baby's ears to spite its mother. 

One day a warrant was issued for his arrest. 
"Jackson was in the court room ready to give him 
a trial, but Bean refused to be arrested and de- 
fied the sheriff 

As he was armed with pistol and knife, the 
sheriff was afraid of him. The sheriff came in 
and told Jackson that the man sat on his horse 



2 34 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

with drawn pistol and swore he would shoot 
anyone that came near him. 

'' Then summon a posse," cried Jackson. 

The sheriff went out again, but soon re- 
turned and told Jackson that the men were all 
afraid to lay hands on the man. 

" Then summon me," roared Jackson. The 
anger of Judge Jackson was now at its highest 
pitch; he leaped from the bench, ran out to 
where the desperado. Bean, was blustering 
and threatening, pointed his pistol at his head, 
and ordered him to surrender. Bean's nerve 
failed him ; he dropped his pistol and said : 

''There's no use, Jedge, I give in." 

He was then brought before the court and 
punished. He afterward said that no man 
could stand before the flashing eye of Judge 
Jackson. 

One of the stories told of Jackson while he 
was judge is quite amusing, and shows how 
cool he was at a critical moment. He was rid- 
ing along a lonely road in his gig when he met 
a ruffian who had been punished in court by 
him years before. 

The man now thought he would have some 



A NDRE W J A CKSON. 235 

fun with the one who had sentenced him to 
punishment. He drew his pistol and ordered 
Jackson to dismount. Jackson coolly got out 
of the gig. 

*' Now, dance for your life," said the man. 

'' How can I dance with these heavy boots 
on," answered Jackson, **let me get my slip- 
pers." 

''All right," said the man, and Jackson 
quietly went to his valise. But instead of the 
slippers, he drew his pistol, whirled upon the 
man, and pointed it to his head. The man 
was so taken back that he lost his aim at the 
judge and stood trembling before him. 

'' Drop that pistol," shouted Jackson, and he 
dropped it. 

'' Now, dance," demanded Jackson, and the 
ruffian began to dance, Jackson pointing his 
pistol at him all the time. When the man 
had danced a long time and began to slacken 
his efforts from fatigue, Jackson said, '' Keep 
on dancing." 

So he made him dance till he could stand 
up no longer and fell helpless to the ground, 
and Jackson drove off 



236 Andre w jackson. 

I shall close this chapter by relating one 
other incident, showing how faithful Jackson 
was to a friend. A large crowd had met at a 
place called Clover Bottom for the annual 
horse-races. 

The landlord of the tavern set a long table 
in the open air and hundreds of men gathered 
around it. Indeed the crowd was so dense on 
both sides of the table that no one could get 
through it. 

Jydge Jackson was at the head of the table 
and a friend of his named Patten Anderson 
was at the other end, several rods away. An- 
derson had enemies there who created a dis- 
turbance, drew their pistols, and were about 
to shoot him. 

Jackson saw the great danger of his friend, 
but the crowd was such that he could not get 
to him. What could he do ? 

Well, if ever there was a man who could 
always find a way to do what he wanted to do, 
it was Andrew Jackson. He leaped from his 
seat, sprang upon the table, and ran among the 
dishes the whole length of the table, shouting, 
'* I'm coming, Patten." 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 237 

As he ran he put his hand into his back 
coat pocket as if for a pistol, but he had no 
pistol. He had, instead, an old steel tobacco- 
box with a stiff spring, which made a click 
similar to that of a pistol. This he drew out 
and snapped. 

The men thinking this a pistol, and seeing 
the terrible flash in Jackson's eye, instantly 
dispersed, and Anderson was saved. 



VII. 

OLD HICKORY. 



The store and farm of Judge Jackson were 
so neglected by his being away from home a 
large part of each year that he decided to 
resign the judgeship and take personal charge 
of his affairs at home. 

This he did in 1804. His finances had also 
suffered greatly through the failure of a man in 
Philadelphia whose notes Jackson held. By this 
failure he lost about seven thousand dollars, 
and to meet it he was forced to sell a large 
tract of land. 



238 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

Jackson owned at one time more than twenty- 
five thousand acres of land, but it was not cul- 
tivated ; its value therefore was not very great. 
A large part of this now had to be sold to pay 
his debts. 

He then moved, with his wife, to a large 
farm not far from Nashville, and this became 
their permanent home. On this farm Jack- 
son built in later years a fine house and named 
it The Hermitage. 

This house is still standing and is looked 
upon as the most interesting place in Tennessee. 

Before Jackson had been sent to Congress 
he was married to Mrs. Rachel Robards. 
Their married life was a long and happy one. 
Jackson thought his wife the best woman in 
the world, and was fondly devoted to her as 
long as she lived. 

From the time that Jackson ceased to be a 
judge till the War of 181 2 began, he lived the 
quiet life of a planter and store-keeper. There 
was little in his life during this period that 
would interest the reader. 

But his experience during the war is highly 
interesting to every American. He had been 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 2 39 

chosen some years before as the leader of the 
Tennessee militia. 

The militia of a State are the men who are 
drilled and practised for warfare, though they 
do not belong to the regular army. 

Volunteers are men who offer to fight for 
their country in time of war, though they do 
not belong to the militia. 

Early in the summer of 1812, only a few 
days after war was declared. General Jack- 
son offered to raise a body of troops and lead 
them into the field. 

His offer was accepted, and in a few months 
he had over two thousand volunteers ready for 
service. He was ordered to lead them down 
the Mississippi River, as it was supposed there 
would soon be an enemy in that part of the 
country. 

After a long journey down the river they 
came to the town of Natchez in February. 
Here they stopped and went into camp. 
They drilled for many weeks and prepared for 
a campaign, but no enemy appeared. 

At length, late in the spring, the general re- 
ceived a letter from the Secretary of War. It 



240 ANDREW JACKSON. 

was very brief and very discouraging. It sim- 
ply stated that there was no further need of the \ 
troops under Jackson, and ordered him to dis- 
miss them at once and turn over their arms 
to another general, then commanding at New 
Orleans. 

General Jackson was very indignant when he 
received this letter. He said it was cruel and 
outrageous to lead men five hundred miles 
from their homes and then turn them out to 
find their way back through the wilderness, 
without money, without arms, without food. 

Many of them were young men, and he had 
promised their parents that he would be a 
father to them and bring them back to their 
homes, if in his power. 

And, besides, one hundred and fifty of them 
were sick, and fifty-six of them could not lift 
their heads from the pillow. What a strange 
thing it would have been to turn these out 
without protection ! 

But General Jackson made up his mind that 
he would not obey this order of the vSecretary 
of War. He said he would march the men 
back to Tennessee, if he had to pay the ex- 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 2\ I 

penses himself. And so they started in a few 
days. 

The sick were put on the few wagons and 
horses which they had ; the rest walked. The 
general had three good horses of his own ; but 
he gave them all to the sick, while he walked 
with the others. Jackson was a good walker 
and bore the trip well, though he was not a 
strong, hearty man. 

One day as they were jogging along some 
one said, ** The general is tough ; " another 
said, "As tough as hickory." From this he 
soon came to be called " Old Hickory," a name 
he retained as long as he lived. 

The army reached their homes after march- 
ing about a month. The sick men had re- 
covered on the way, and they were all glad to 
meet their friends again. The government 
afterward bore the expense of the trip and thus 
saved General Jackson from financial ruin. 

i6 



242 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

VIII. 
RGHTING INDIANS. 

General Jackson was very popular in 
Tennessee after returning with his army from 
down the river. The people liked the way he 
had treated the soldiers, and his praises were 
sounded on every side. 

Now it happened that the Creeic Indians be- 
came involved in the War of 1812. They were 
led to fight against the Americans by a noted 
Indian chief from the north named Tecumseh, 
who was a friend to England. 

It was very wrong for the Creeks to fight 
on the British side, for they were, at that time, 
receiving a pension from the United States. 

One of the first acts of these Indians was to 
commit a horrible crime — the massacre of Fort 
Mims. This occurred in August, 181 3. The 
fort was in the southern part of Alabama, was 
built of wood, and covered about an acre of 
ground. 

When the white people of the neighborhood 
heard the Indians were hostile they gathered 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 243 

here, men, women, and children, until there 
were about five hundred in the fort. 

One day a thousand Indian warriors, hideous 
with war-paint, rushed upon the fort and mur- 
dered the people, women and children as well 
as men, until only a few were left ! 

The news spread through Tennessee, and the 
wildest excitement prevailed. What could be 
done ? The people felt that the murder should 
be avenged and their own homes protected. 

" Raise an army and march into the Indian 
country," was the cry throughout Tennessee. 
Who would lead the army ? Jackson was their 
general ; but he had been engaged in a street- 
fight, and his left arm was terribly shattered 
with a pistol-ball. 

He had not been out of bed for some 
weeks, and no one thought he would be able 
to lead them. But as soon as he heard what 
was going on, he got up and said he was 
ready to go. He was a man of wonderful 
nerve and courage. 

His arm had not yet healed, but within a 
few days he was on his horse marching with 
an army into the Indian country. His left 



244 ANDRE IV J A CKSON. 

arm was in a sling and he had to be Hfted on 
and off his horse. 

The army marched into the Indian country 
a hundred miles or more and encamped at a 
place called Fort Strother. Here the general 
learned that the Indians were encamped at a 
place called Talladega, about thirty miles away. 

He now hastened with his army to the place, 
covering nearly the whole distance in one 
night. Next morning he met the Indians, and 
the battle of Talladega was fought. 

The Indians were put to flight in a short 
time and Jackson returned to his camp. 

But there was one serious trouble with which 
he had to contend and that was a want of provis- 
ions for his soldiers. There being no railroads, 
it was not easy to get supplies to the army and 
they had to wait for several weeks with almost 
nothing to eat. 

The result was that the men grew restless 
and wanted to go home. Jackson pleaded with 
them to stay with him until the Creeks were 
subdued, and at times he would have half the 
army watch the other half to keep them from 
going. 



ANDRE W J A CKSON, 24 5 

At last the men vowed they would go home, 
even after supplies had reached them, and be- 
gan to move off in a body. 

Jackson's old fighting spirit now arose. He 
rode in front of the moving column, laid his 
gun across his horse's neck with his right hand, 
his left still being in a sling, and said he would 
shoot the first man that made another step. 

Not a man stirred for some minutes. At 
length they gave it up and agreed to return to 
their duty. It was afterward found that the 
musket that Jackson had at the time was too 
much out of order to be discharged. 



IX. 

MORE INDIAN HGHTING. 



The troops now under Jackson were so dis- 
contented that he thought it unwise to force 
them to stay longer. They were not regular 
soldiers, had never been in war before, and 
soon grew tired of it. 

They had won an important victory and 
now longed to go back to their farm and their 



246 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

families. So General Jackson let them go, but 
his ranks were soon filled by others sent to 
take their places. 

This second army was much better than the 
first, and reached the number pf five thousand 
men. It was several weeks before they could 
get ready for a final campaign against the 
enemy, and the spring was now at hand. 

There is a bend in the Tallapoosa River 
about midway between its source and its 
mouth. The curve is so sharp that it forms a 
small peninsula containing a hundred acres of 
land, and this is called the Horseshoe, because 
its shape is that of a horseshoe. 

This peninsula was a wild, rough piece of 
ground covered with timber. The Indians, 
thinking this a good place to encamp and to 
fortify themselves against the Americans, had 
gathered here to the number of twelve 
hundred. 

Jackson, hearing of their encampment at 
Horseshoe, hastened to meet them. He 
reached the place the last part of March, 181 4. 
Now occurred one of the bloodiest battles ever 
fought with the Indians on American soil. 



A NDRE W J A CKSON. 247 

Jackson placed his men in different points 
around the peninsula and began the attack. 

The battle raged all day. When night came 
nearly nine hundred Indians lay dead upon 
the field or at the bottom of the river. The 
rest had escaped into the wilderness. The loss 
on the American side was about one-fifth that 
of the Indians. 

The power of the Creek Indians was now 
entirely broken. Not long after this battle 
they began to come to Jackson and sue for 
peace. Jackson offered to spare all who would 
lay down their arms and promise to let the 
white settlers alone in future. 

Most of them did this. But there was 
one Indian chief whom Jackson said they 
must bring to him for punishment, and that 
was Weatherford who had led the massacre at 
Fort Mims. 

One day when Jackson was sitting in his 
tent a big Indian chief with his paint and 
feathers walked in and said, '' I am Weather- 
ford. I have come to ask peace for my 
people." 

Jackson was surprised at his coming and 



248 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

said : " I had directed that you be brought to 
me bound; had you so appeared, I should 
have known how to treat you." 

'' I am in your power," answered the Indian ; 
''do with me as you please. I am a soldier. 
I have done the white people all the harm I 
could. If I had an army, I would yet fight 
them; but I have none. My people are all 
gone. 

'' My warriors can no longer hear my voice. 
Their bones are at Talladega and The Horse- 
shoe. Do with me what you will. You are a 
brave man ; I rely on your generosity. I ask 
not for myself, but for my people." 

Jackson had intended to put Weatherford to 
death for what he had done at Fort Mims, but 
after hearing this eloquent speech from so brave 
a man, he could not do it. 

Weatherford promised to do all in his power 
toward keeping the peace in future, and was 
suffered to depart. He kept his word, and 
the Indian war was over. 

I shall now close this story of Indian fight- 
ing by relating a touching little incident. 

Besides the battles of Talladega and The 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 249 

Horseshoe, which we have noticed, there were 
several other smaller battles fought during this 
campaign. 

Sometimes the Indians had with them their 
women and children during a battle, and some 
of them were sure to be killed, as well as the 
men ; though the Americans did not kill them 
if they could help it. 

After one of these battles a little Indian 
baby boy was brought into the American camp. 
Its mother had been killed, and the living child 
was found in the dead mother's arms. An 
Indian baby is called a papoose. 

General Jackson took this little papoose into 
his tent where it was fed on water mixed with 
sugar. He then sent it away to be nursed at 
his expense ; and when the campaign was over 
he took it to his own home. 

Mrs. Jackson received the little fellow very 
kindly. The boy grew up in their home till 
he became a man and was treated by the gen- 
eral and his wife almost as a son. 



250 ANDREW JACKSON. 

X. 

MAJOR-GENERAL ANDREW JACKSON* 

A MAJOR-GENERAL in the army is one grade 
below a lieutenant-general and one grade above 
a brigadier-general. 

Andrew Jackson had been simply the com- 
mander of the Tennessee forces; but after his 
success among the Indians he was made a 
major-general in the army of the United States. 

Major-General William Henry Harrison, 
who afterward became President of the United 
States, resigned from the army in 181 4, and 
Jackson was appointed to take his place. 

He was now a regular officer of the Union, 
and the duty of defending the southern part 
of the country was assigned to him. The 
great work before him was to defend the lower 
Mississippi valley ; but before going down the 
river he made a short vigorous campaign into 
Florida. 

First he drove a small British fleet out of 
Mobile Bay, destroying one of the ships ; then 
he made a hurried march across the country 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 2 5 I 

to Pensacola and took possession of the place 
driving away the enemy. 

The rumor was spread throughout the South 
that a large English fleet had set sail for the 
mouth of the Mississippi. 

General Jackson therefore hastened with his 
troops to New Orleans, and arrived about the 
first of December, 1814. 

The city was ill prepared for defense. The 
people knew of the impending danger. The 
citizens had met to consult about it, but they 
could agree on nothing. At length the news 
was spread that Jackson had arrived, and there 
was magic in the news. 

A leader had been greatly needed, and here 
was now a leader who was born to command. 
He had been but a few hours in the city when 
the plan of defense was fully decided upon, 
and hope was seen to beam in every counte- 
nance. 

Some days were now taken by the general 
in viewing the various approaches to the city. 

It was soon found that the fears of the peo- 
ple were well grounded. A large British fleet 
had landed. It consisted of fifty ships, carrying 



252 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

twenty thousand soldiers and a thousand heavy 
guns. 

It was commanded by Sir Edward Pakcn- 
ham, a brave and successful soldier, and 
brother-in-law of the duke of Wellington, the 
hero of Waterloo. 

Against this force Jackson had less than four 
thousand men, and many of them were badly 
armed. Many had never been in a battle. 

General Jackson was himself in poor health. 
The long exposure in the Indian country and 
the long horseback rides through the wilderness 
had greatly injured his health. 

When he reached New Orleans, he was 
scarcely able to sit on his horse. But the 
power of his will was wonderful; and now for 
weeks he was active day and night preparing to 
save the city. 

The British army was slowly making its 
way up the river on the eastern bank toward 
the city. As soon as Jackson knew of their 
approach he decided to attack them. 

This he did on the night of December 23 ; 
and the battle raged in the darkness for several 
hours. But neither side won a victory. 



A NDKE W J A CKSON. 253 

On the next day, just one day before Christ- 
mas, a treaty of peace was signed between 
England and the United States, at the little 
town of Ghent in Belgium. 

But there was no Atlantic cable then, and the 
news of the peace was not heard in America 
for several weeks ; so the preparations for battle 
were continued. 

. General Jackson saw that the only way to 
save the city was to throw up an embankment 
and have his men fight from behind it. 

He therefore put them to work, and for 
nearly three weeks the soldiers worked like 
beavers day and night with spade and shovel 
and wheelbarrow. 

It would remind one of bees building a 
honey-comb, or a colony of ants making an 
ant-hill. 

During this time the British made two or 
three assaults on the American line, but were 
driven back each time. The loss of men 
reached several hundred on each side. In one 
of these attacks General Jackson was in a large 
wooden house back of his army. 

The English, knowing this, directed their fire 



254 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

toward it, and the house was struck by a hun- 
dred cannon balls in ten minutes, but the gen- 
eral was not hurt. 

General Pakenham was ready for a grand 
assault. By the evening of the seventh of Janu- 
ary there was a feeling on both sides that an 
awful battle was about to take place. 

And so there was — one of the most terrible 
this Western World had ever seen — but that 
will be given in the next chapter. 



XL 
BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 

War is a dreadful thing at best. It sweeps 
over a land and leaves a frightful trail — 
suffering and woe, widows and orphans! 
The shouts of victory are mingled with the 
wails of the dying ; the songs of triumph with 
the groans of the fallen foe. 

But with all its horrors, war will sometimes 
come and we cannot help it. At such times it 
is the part of one who loves his country to 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 255 

fight for its honor with his heart brave and 
unfaltering. 

Such were the men who fought under Jack- 
son at the battle of New Orleans on January 
8, 1815. 

General Jackson and his soldiers felt it their 
solemn duty to repel the English invaders of 
our land, and now the supreme moment had 
come. 

The general remembered how, thirty-five 
years before when only a boy, he had been 
captured by the English in the Revolutionary 
War, and a cruel officer had struck him with a 
sword, leaving a scar that he still bore. 

He remembered how that war had deprived 
him of his loving mother and his two brothers ; 
and perhaps these memories made him the 
more anxious now to inflict a terrible blow 
upon the enemy. 

He arose on this day at one o'clock in the 
morning and rode along his lines, rousing his 
men to their places of duty. 

Within a few hours everything was in readi- 
ness — the cannon mounted, and every man at 
his place. 



256 A NDRE W J A CKSON. 

Great was the activity also in the British 1 
camp. No soldiers are braver than the Eng- \ 
lish soldiers, and they certainly proved it on 
that fatal day. At the first break of day they 
were marching in solid columns toward the 
American lines. 

Then at the signal of a skyrocket they 
opened fire, and the awful work of the day was 
begun. The aim of the British was to storm 
and capture the American works. 

A large body of troops, led by General Gibbs, 
marched boldly toward the works. The Ameri- 
cans held their peace till the British came with- 
in a few hundred yards. 

Then they opened a terrific fire, and mowed 
them down like grass before the reaper's 
scythe. 

The boom of the cannon and the rattle of the 
musketry made a noise at once terrible and 
magnificent. 

The top of the American breastwork, nearly 
a mile in length, was one unbroken line of fire. 

In a few minutes the British troops began to 
falter and break away, leaving hundreds dead 
on the field. General Gibbs rode in front and 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 2 5 / 

tried to rally them, but they refused to rush to 
certain death. 

At that moment General Pakenham rode to 
the front and cried, '' For shame ! recollect that 
you are British soldiers." 

At length they rallied and again faced the 
awful fire from the American works. The 
slaughter was now more dreadful than before. 
The musketeers swept them down like chaff 
before the wind. 

A cannon was loaded to the muzzle with 
musket balls and scraps of iron, and fired right 
into the head of the column. It mowed a 
wide swath from one end to the other, cutting 
down two hundred men ! 

Pakenham's horse was shot, and he leaped 
upon another. His right arm was now shattered 
by a musket ball and fell helpless to his side ; 
but he kept on cheering his men as if he did 
not notice it. 

A few minutes later he was pierced through 
the body by two balls, and his second horse 
killed at the same instant. They fell together. 

Friendly hands caught the falling general 
and bore him to a place of safety in the rear; 



17 



258 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

but when they reached there, the heroic com- 
mander was dead. General Gibbs was also 
killed, and General Lambert became the Eng- 
lish commander. 

The Americans were so secure behind their 
works that they could fight in safety. 

Twenty-five minutes after the first terrible 
fire had begun, the British fled to a safe dis- 
tance and the main part of the battle was over. 
What an awful day it was to that English 
army! 

During the conflict General Jackson walked 
along his lines, cheering his men and urging 
them to do their best The victory was com- 
plete, and the city was saved. 

The British loss on that day in killed, 
wounded, and prisoners, was two thousand 
six hundred; the American loss was not 
over twenty-one men ! 

Ten days later General Lambert led the 
remainder of his army silently back to their 
ships by night, and they were seen no more on 
the shores of Louisiana. 



A NDRE W J A CKSON. 259 

XII. 
ECHOES FROM THE BATTLE. 

The great battle of January 8, 1815, was 
fought on the east bank of the Mississippi, 
about six miles below New Orleans. 

Next to General Jackson the one who de- 
served most credit for the victory was General 
Coffee, who had been with Jackson all through 
the Indian campaign. 

While this battle was going on there was an- 
other being fought on the west side of the 
river. Only a few hundred men were here 
engaged. 

The result was a victory for the English, who 
drove the Americans from their position ; but 
General Lambert decided not to attempt to 
hold the ground they had won, and he ordered 
the men back to the main army. 

Let me here relate a few little incidents of 
the battle. 

When the British first landed from their 
ships some miles below the city, they took as 
prisoners all who lived in that neighborhood, 



26o ANDREW JACKSON. 

SO that none could inform General Jackson that 
they had made a landing. 

Their object was to surprise the city and 
capture it, if possible, without much fighting. 
Among the prisoners was a young Creole, 
Major Villere, who determined to escape, if he 
could, and give the alarm in the city. 

He was confined in a house guarded by 
armed men ; but he escaped through a window, 
ran across the yard filled with redcoats, leaped 
over a high hedge fence, and made for the for- 
est with all speed. 

'* Catch him, or kill him," cried the colonel. 

About fifty men started in pursuit. After a 
long race through the woods, he found that they 
were gaining on him, and decided to climb a 
tree. 

At that moment he heard a whining at his feet 
and looked down, and behold ! his favorite 
setter. The faithful dog had followed its 
master and now crouched at his feet. 

What could be done ? If the dog remained 
there, he would be discovered. There was but 
one thing to do — kill the dog. Now he did 
what he often related in after years with tears 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 26 1 

in his eyes. He slew the noble dog with a 
club, hid its body, and climbed the tree. 

The fate of the city was at stake, and he 
could not do otherwise. The soldiers came 
on, passed by under the tree, and were soon 
gone. 

When their voices died out in the distance, 
he came down, made his way across the river, 
and reached the city about one o'clock the next 
afternoon. 

He soon found General Jackson, and in- 
formed him that the British had landed and 
were encamped but eight miles below. 

He had made a narrow escape, lost his faith- 
ful dog, but had saved New Orleans from a 
surprise by the enemy. 

During the battle a few Englishmen would 
now and then reach the American works and 
climb upon the rampart; but they were in- 
stantly shot down. Only one man. Lieutenant 
Lavack, reached the summit unhurt, and he was 
made a prisoner. 

One Major Wilkinson reached the top and 
there fell mortally wounded. The Americans, 
seeing that he was not dead, ceased firing and 



262 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

carried him to the rear. Some one said, '' Bear 
up, my dear fellow; you are a brave man." 

The wounded man answered in a weak, faint 
voice, " From my heart I thank you ; it is all 
over with me. You can do me a favor; tell 
my commander that I fell on your rampart and 
died like a soldier." 

One of the most touching incidents of the 
battle was the following : A boy fourteen years 
old was a bugler, that is, one who blows the 
bugle to cheer the soldiers. 

This boy climbed a small tree in the thickest 
of the battle, sat astride a limb, and blew his 
horn during the whole time. 

The cannon balls and bullets plowed the 
ground around him, killed scores of men, and 
even tore the branches of the tree ; but still he 
sat blowing with all his might. 

The blast of his horn could be heard above 
the roaring of the battle. When all was over 
and the British had fled, some Americans, walk- 
ing over the ground, found the brave lad still 
in the tree. 

He had not even been wounded. He was 
taken to the American camp where many 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 26 3 

gathered around to show him kindness, some 
even embracing the gallant little soldier. 

The people of New Orleans were exultant 
with joy at the success of the American arms 
and the salvation of the city. General Jackson 
found himself exceedingly popular. 

As the army returned to the city, hundreds 
of people went out to meet them. A triumphal 
arch was erected in the public square. 

A solemn public service was held in the 
cathedral to give thanks to God for their de- 
liverance. 

General Jackson was now forty-eight years 
old. From this time his fame was world-wide. 
When he returned to Tennessee late in the 
spring, he was met with the most enthusiastic 
welcome. 

Some months later the President summoned 
him to Washington. His journey thither was 
one continued ovation. At Lynchburg, Vir- 
ginia, a great meeting was held in his honor, 
and the aged ex-President Jefferson was pre- 
sent. To the end of Jackson's life his fame 
never abated. 

This battle of New Orleans, nearly eighty 



264 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

years ago, was the last battle fought between 
America and England. Let us hope and pray 
that there will never be another. 



XIII. 
GENERAL JACKSON BECOMES PRESIDENT. 

For several years after the War of 181 2 
Andrew^ Jackson led the quiet life of a planter. 

As this little book must not be too long I 
have omitted to tell of the long wait Jackson 
and his army had in New Orleans for the com- 
ing of the news of peace, and of the trouble 
he had in that city with a judge of the United 
States court. 

I shall also leave out an account of the 
Seminole War of 1818, since it was very 
similar to the Indian fighting that has been re- 
lated. 

Let us go on to the presidential campaign 
of 1824. 

James Monroe, who had succeedecji Mr. 
Madison as president, was now serving his 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 265 

second term. The question on all sides was, 
Who will be the next president? 

Four candidates w^ere early in the field, John 
Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, John C. Cal- 
houn of South Carolina, and William H. Craw- 
ford of Georgia. 

These three were all in Mr. Monroe's cabinet. 
The fourth candidate was Henry Clay of Ken- 
tucky, Speaker of the House of Representa- 
tives. 

These were all strong men, and each had a 
good following. Before the election a fifth 
candidate entered the field, and that was An- 
drew Jackson. 

He was nominated by the Legislature of 
Tennessee, and in a short time he became the 
most popular of all. Mr. Calhoun soon 
dropped out of the race and became the candi- 
date for the vice-presidency. 

When the election came, Calhoun was 
elected vice-president ; but there was no elec- 
tion of president, as no one had received the 
majority of the Electoral College. 

Jackson received the highest number of 
votes, ninety-nine. Adams came next with 



266 ANDRE W J A CliSON. 

eighty-four, while Crawford received forty-one 
and Clay thirty-seven. 

Now the Constitution of the United States 
provides that when there is no election of 
president by the people, the election must go 
to the House of Representatives. 

This was the second and last time thus far 
that the House had to elect a president, the 
first being in 1801 when Jefferson was elected 
for the first time. 

The house voted on February the ninth and 
Adams was elected. Soon after the election 
Adams chose Henry Clay Secretary of State. 

Then Jackson and his friends raised the cry 
that there had been a corrupt bargain between 
Adams and Clay; that is, that Adams had 
offered to make Clay secretary, if Clay would 
help make him president. 

There is no proof that such a bargain had 
ever been made, but Jackson believed it and 
was free to say so. 

Not long after the inauguration of Adams, 
Jackson's friends again nominated him for presi- 
dent, and the subject was kept before the 
people for nearly four years. 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 267 

Jackson resigned his seat in the United States 
Senate to which he had been elected, and gave 
his attention to the canvass. When" the next 
election came near, everything was done to 
make Jackson a winning candidate. 

In January, 1828, he attended an immense 
celebration at New Orleans, in honor of his 
victory of 1815. It lasted four days, and was 
attended by a vast crowd of people from all 
parts of the Union. 

The campaign that followed that year was a 
bitter one. Mr. Adams was a candidate for re- 
election. Both parties seemed to forget their 
courtesy. They stooped to every kind of per- 
sonal abuse. The sooner such a practice in 
our politics can be gotten rid of the better. 

At the election Jackson won a great victory. 
He received one hundred and seventy-eight 
electoral votes to Adams's eighty-three. 

Andrew Jackson was now elected president 
of the United States ; but before taking his 
seat there came upon him the greatest sorrow 
of his life. His beloved wife died in Decem- 
ber, a few weeks after the election. 

The general was greatly devoted to his wife, 



268 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

and it is said that he never recovered from the 
shock. It was said that he looked twenty 
years older in a night. Scarcely was the fun- 
eral over, when he had to begin his long jour- 
ney to Washington. 

The fourth of March was a beautiful day, and 
the crowd was vast. The people had come 
from every point of the compass to see the 
*' people's man " made president. 

Jackson was the first of our presidents to 
rise from the lower strata of society. All the 
presidents before him had come from rich and 
aristocratic families. 

Jackson rose from the ranks of the poor and 
the unknown, and the people loved him the 
more for that. The inauguration over, they 
proceeded to the White House where a grand 
public reception was held. 

Here the people tramped over the fine Brus- 
sels carpets, stood on the upholstered furniture, 
and in their crowding smashed a fine, costly 
chandelier. 

Did Jackson get angry at their carelessness ? 
Oh, no ! He simply said, " Let the boys have 
a good time once in four years." 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 269 

XIV. 
JACKSON AS PRESIDENT. 

Eight of our presidents thus far have been 
elected for a second term. Jackson was one 
of these; he was president from March, 1829, 
to March, 1837. 

During this period there were many very 
important subjects before the country; but as 
this little volume is intended for young readers, 
I shall not discuss in it those great political 
questions. 

Let us simply refer to a few of the most im- 
portant movements without going too deeply 
into the subject. 

One of the first things Jackson did, on be- 
coming president, was to dismiss a great many 
office-holders and to put his friends in their 
places. These officers, post-masters, revenue 
collectors, and the like, are appointed by the 
president and are called civil service officers. 

The presidents before Jackson appointed 
civil service officials because of their fitness, 
not because they were personal friends, or be- 
longed to the same political party. 



270 ANDREW JACKSON. 

But Jackson turned these out by the hundred, 
and put in his friends and members of his own 
party. This is a very bad practice. It leads 
men to work for their party, not for the sake of 
good government, but because they expect to 
be rewarded with an office. 

President Jackson does not deserve our 
thanks for introducing this custom, which is 
still with us to some extent. But in the last 
few years there has been an earnest endeacvor 
to introduce Civil Service Reform, that is, to 
get back to the old custom of the first presi- 
dents. 

Perhaps the best thing that Jackson did for 
his country while president was to crush Nulli- 
fication in South Carolina. You may wonder 
what that big word "nullification" means. 

To nullify means to make null and of no 
effect. South Carolina did not like the tariff 
of 1828, and decided to nullify it, to prevent it 
from taking effect in that State. 

A tariff is a duty, a tax on goods sold in this 
country from foreign countries. It has two 
objects: first, to raise money by this tax to 
carry on the government. 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 2/ 1 

This is called Revenue. Second, to protect 
home industries ; to prevent the foreigner, by 
taxing his goods, from underselling our own 
people. For if his goods are taxed, he must 
charge so much the more for them to make it 
up.. This is called Protection. 

South Carolina did not want protection, as 
her people did not manufacture goods. They 
desired a low tariff, so that they could purchase 
foreign products at a low price. So South 
Carolina decided not to be bound by this tariff, 
nor permit its enforcement in that State. This 
was nullification. 

General Jackson took very strong ground 
against South Carolina. His old war spirit 
arose, and he determined to send an army into 
the State and enforce obedience. When the 
people of the State saw that he was in earnest, 
they receded from their position and thus the 
whole matter was settled. 

This took place in 1832 — -just a hundred 
years after the birth of George Washington 
and the settlement of Georgia. 

Let us notice one other event of Jackson's 
administration — his dealing with the United 



2/2 A NDRE W J A CKSON, 

States Bank. The United States Bank was a 
very large concern with a capital of thirty-five 
million dollars. It had been chartered by 
Congress for twenty years, and had control of 
nearly all the money of the country. 

Now President Jackson was not a friend of 
this bank. He believed that so great a bank, 
with such power over the people's money, was 
likely to become corrupt, and to carry the elec- 
tions by a wrong use of the money. 

When therefore a bill to re-charter the bank 
was passed in Congress, Jackson vetoed the 
bill. A president vetoes a bill when he refuses 
to sign it and gives his reasons for it. 

Jackson further determined to weaken the 
bank by removing the money of the Treasury 
from it. When he did this, it caused a great 
deal of excitement throughout the country. 

Many people thought the bank was a good 
thing, and they feared that any disturbance of 
the business of the bank would disturb all 
sorts of business over the country, and perhaps 
bring on a panic. 

Thousands of people begged Jackson to re- 
place the money in the bank, but nothing could 



ANDRE W J A CKSON. 2] 3 

move him. The final result was that the bank 
was destroyed. 

From that time to the present the surplus 
money of the government has been kept in an 
independent treasury, often called the Sub- 
Treasury. 

When Jackson's second term drew to a close, 
he determined to retire to private life, though 
there is little doubt that he could have been 
elected a third time, had he so desired. 

We have had only two presidents, perhaps, 
who could have been elected to a third term, 
and they were Washington and Jackson. 



XV. 

JACKSON'S OLD AGE, 

Let us notice very briefly the closing years 
of the active life of Andrew Jackson. When 
he retired to the Hermitage in Tennessee, he 
was seventy years old and very infirm in 
health. 

He had saved but little of his salary and his 
farm had not been well kept. He soon became 



2 74 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 

interested in the farm, his health improved and 
he lived eight years in retirement, dying at the 
age of seventy-eight. 

Perhaps no public man in America has had 
firmer friends and bitterer enemies than An- 
drew Jackson. 

That he had serious faults no one can deny. 
He had a violent temper and he often failed to 
control it ; or rather he did not seem to try to 
control it. He loved to reward his friends and 
to punish his enemies. 

But far more can be said of Jackson's virtues 
than his faults. He was an honest man and 
loved his country. No one could ever accuse 
him of selfish ambition. He often used rough 
language, as did most men from the frontier; 
but he was very courteous and chivalrous to 
ladies. 

Many a one was astonished to find him so 
genteel and cultured in society. On one oc- 
casion a fashionable lady from London called 
on Jackson. She afterward remarked, ** Your 
republican president is the royal model of a 
gentleman." 

Jackson's social life was as pure as snow. 



• ANDREW JACKSON. 2/5 

He had a deeply religious spirit. It is true he 
did not join the church until near the close of 
his life ; but his letters and speeches often refer 
to Divine Providence, and show that he had 
a devout nature. 

He said near the close of his life that he had 
read three chapters in the Bible daily for 
thirty-five years. 

In 1842 he became a member of the Presby- 
terian Church. During the remaining three 
years of his life he spent most of his leisure 
time reading the Bible and his hymn-book, 
and had prayers every night with his family. 

At length Jackson's great changeful life drew 
to a close. His suffering had been intense for 
many months, but not a word of complaint 
ever escaped his lips. 

How can we more fittingly close this 
narrative than by quoting some of his last 
words? The end came on the eighth of 
June, 1845. 

On the morning of that day the doctor said 
that the hand of death was upon him. 

The family and slaves gathered around. 
The aged man swooned away ; they thought 



276 ANDREW JACKSON. . 

the end was at hand, and many were weeping 
and sobbing. 

Presently the dying general opened his eyes 
and said : " My dear children, do not grieve 
for me ; it is true, I am going to leave you. 
I have suffered much bodily pain, but my suf- 
ferings are as nothing compared with that 
which our blessed Saviour endured upon the 
cross, that we might all be saved who put our 
trust in him." 

Soon after saying this he took leave of the 
members of his family separately, beginning 
with Mrs. Jackson, wife of his adopted son. 
Then turning partly toward the piazza filled 
with a crowd of black servants, he said : 

" My dear children and friends and servants, 
I hope and trust to meet you all in heaven, 
both white and black," repeating the last words, 
''both white and black." 

Thus the day passed, till evening. The 
slaves had been standing about the house all 
day, looking through the windows, wringing 
their hands and weeping. 

Half an hour before his death he heard the 
sobbing of these servants, and turning his head 



A NDRE W J A CKSON. 2// 

slightly, said in a weak, tremulous voice, 
** What is the matter with my dear children ? 
Have I alarmed you ? Oh, do not cry. Be 
good children, and we will all meet in heaven." 
These were his last words. He died with- 
out a struggle at six o'clock in the evening. 
His body was laid to rest beside that of his 
wife in a little garden near the Hermitage. 



A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 

OF 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN 




ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



The Story of the Martyred President, 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 

By miss FRANCES M. PERRY. 



CHAPTER I. 
AN UNPROMISING START IN LIFE. 

The child was small to be alone in the 
forest. He seemed quite as much at home 
there, and looked almost as wild and tiny as a 
rabbit, as he darted along the shady deer-trail. 

His little brown arms and legs were tanned 
till they were wellnigh as dark as the scant 
.deer-skin garment he wore. No hat covered 
the shock of straight black hair that hung over 
his eyes. 

He was scampering along at a lively pace, 
for he had cau^^ht a fish, and was takinor it 

home for his mother to cook for his supper, 

281 



282 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

but he paused as he saw a strange man coming 
toward him. 

At sight of the small sportsman the stranger 
stopped, too, and remarked, *' That's a fine fish 
you have there, my boy." A smile lighted up 
the thin, dark face of the child. '' Take it, sir, 
you're a soldier," he answered, gazing rev- 
erently at the dust-covered uniform of an 
infantryman of the War of 1812. 

''What will your mother say if I take your 
fish ?" asked the soldier, in some surprise. "She 
says soldiers are brave, and we must be kind 
to them," answered the lad, still offering the 
fish. 

The man took it, saying it would make a 
hungry man a good supper. The boy ran on 
with a light heart to the little cabin in the 
clearing. He ate his supper of potatoes, which 
had been baked in the ashes of the hearth, with 
a good appetite while he told his adventure 
with the soldier. 

The boy was Abraham Lincoln. The cabin 
in the clearing was the Kentucky home near 
Hodgensville, where he was born on the twelfth 



AN UNPROMISING START IN LIFE, 283 

day of February, 1809. The small hut, four- 
teen feet square, made of rough logs, without 
floor, without doors or windows, was little 
better than an Indian's lodge. 

There were a few acres of corn growing back 
of the cabin, and there was a carpenter's bench 
near the doorway. But the bench was often 
idle and the weeds choked the corn, while 
Thomas Lincoln, a Rip- Van-Winkle sort of a 
man, was off" in the woods with his dog and 
gun hunting wild turkey. 

He had lived in Kentucky all his life. He 
could remember seeing his own father shot by 
an Indian while he was working in the field 
with his sons, not far from the fort. He had 
grown to manhood on the frontier, but, un- 
like many of his thrifty neighbors, he had not 
profited by the many opportunities to buy a 
good farm, and was still miserably poor. 

Sometimes he resolved to go to work, to pay 
off his debts, and save a little money. After 
such a resolution he worked with a will for a 
time and accomplished a great deal, for he was 
unusually strong. But he lacked persistence, 



284 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

and soon lost interest and slipped back into 
his old idle habits. 

Little '' Abe " liked to hear the stories his 
father had to tell about hunting and Indians ; 
he liked to hear his father laugh at his pert 
remarks ; he liked his rough caresses. But 
there were times when he avoided his strong 
hand, which to-day might be raised to strike 
him for some prank that yesterday would 
have brought only laughter. 

But the gaunt, unsmiling mother had a 
gentle touch, and her anger was not easily 
roused. What was she thinking about while 
she hoed the corn and cured the skins and 
cooked the meals ? Sometimes she talked to 
Abraham and his sister about the future. She 
hoped they would learn to read and write and 
that they would grow up to be very wise and 
good. 

When a school was opened in the neighbor- 
hood, Mrs. Lincoln wished to send the chil- 
dren. Mr. Lincoln did not think it a matter of 
importance. His wife could read and write. 
She had taught him to write his name. She 



AN UNPROMISING START IN LIFE. 285 

could teach the children, when they were older, 
all they needed to know. But when Mrs. Lin- 
coln had made up her mind to do a thing she 
was not easily discouraged ; and her two chil- 
dren were among the boys and girls and the 
young men and women who gathered at the 
log school-house to learn the alphabet and 
master the spelling-book. 

School was only open for a few weeks at a 
time, however, and most of Abraham Lincoln's 
days in Kentucky were spent in the forest, 
either alone or with his sister. When he was 
seven years old his father moved to a farm in 
Indiana, where land was cheap and game more 
abundant. 

To move his family and household goods 
Thomas Lincoln borrowed two horses. One 
of them was loaded with a clumsy burden of 
kettles, pans, stools, and dressed skins. On 
the other the members of the family took turns 
riding. Though but a little boy, Abe showed 
great strength and endurance on the journey, 
and trudged along for hours together without 
making the least complaint. 



286 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

The distance the family had to travel was 
only about seventy miles. It would not take 
long to travel seventy miles on a good road, 
but often these movers had not so much as a 
bridle-path to follow, and had to cut their way 
through the thick underbrush of the forest. 

The roads that had been marked out were 
very poor, and the horses picked their way 
slowly between stumps and stones. To cross 
streams they had to find good fording-places^ 
for there were no bridges. But at length the 
movers reached their new home on Pigeon 
Creek, about sixteen miles north of the Ohio 
River. 



CHAPTER II. 
THE INDIANA HOME. 

Winter was now coming on, and necessity 
drove even lazy Thomas Lincoln to work. He 
sharpened his ax and, selecting a spot for a 
dwelling, began to chop down the trees growing 
there. He was not unaided in this work. His 
wife and little son were both able to wield the 
ax with long swinging strokes that drove its 
edge far into the tough wood. 

Together they built with more haste than 
care a ** half-faced camp" of logs; a half-faced 
camp was a shed roofed over and enclosed on 
the three sides from which cold winds were 
most likely to blow, but left open on the other. 
No doors, windows, nor chimneys were needed 
in this dwelling. 

The open side gave plenty of light and air^ 
and there the fire of brush and logs burned 

night and day to keep the prowling wolves 

287 



288 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

away and to boil the kettle and bake the corn- 
cakes. It did not require great skill in car- 
pentry to make the furniture for the camp. A 
cross-section of a large log, supported on 
blocks of wood, served for a table, and three 
or four three-legged stools and a platform on 
which leaves, corn-husks, and skins might be 
strewn for a bed, made up the entire outfit. 

When this rude shelter was completed and 
furnished there was still a hard year's work 
before Thomas Lincoln. Hunting was not a 
matter of sport but of necessity for him that 
fall. If he did not provide a good stock of 
smoked deer-meat the family might starve. 
Skins, for winter garments and to serve for 
blankets during the long cold nights when the 
fire burned low, had to be provided. 

But the great work was to continue the 
clearing, to make space for a few acres of corn 
and a patch of wheat in the coming spring, 
and with the logs cut from the felled trees 
Thomas Lincoln built a permanent dwelling 
house. 

The family did not suffer so much as you 



THE INDIANA HOME. 289 

might suppose during the winter in the half- 
faced camp. Felling trees was hard enough 
work to keep them warm even on the coldest 
days. The corn-cakes and the pork and venison 
they ate were nourishing and heat producing. 

Constant exposure to the cold so hardened 
them that they were less sensitive than people 
accustomed to live in comfortable houses 
would be in such circumstances. Indeed, they 
were so well pleased with their new home that 
they sent glowing reports of it to their friends. 

The next spring some of Mrs. Lincoln's 
relatives, members of the Hanks family, came 
to join them in Indiana. The house was so 
nearly completed that the Lincoln family 
moved into it and gave up the camp to the 
new-comers. The house was quite the best 
the family had ever lived in. It was made of 
hewn logs that fit neatly together. 

The chimney was wide and deep. The room 
was eighteen feet square, and above it was a 
low loft, where Abraham Lincoln slept during 
his boyhood. A square opening was left in the 
floor of the loft, and a row of pegs driven into 
19 



290 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

the logs beneath it made as convenient a stair- 
way as the long-limbed boy cared for. 

A floor, windows, and doors in the living- 
room were luxuries that Thomas Lincoln in- 
tended to indulge in at some future time, but 
after a winter in the half-faced camp the cabin 
seemed very comfortable without them. As 
long as all were well and strong the pioneers 
in the wilderness home got along well enough 
in spite of loneliness, hard work, and poverty. 

But in the autumn of 1818 an illness pecu- 
liar to the new, undeveloped country broke out 
in southern Indiana, making cattle and men 
sick, and causing many deaths. Then they felt 
how hard it was to have no doctor within 
reach, no money to send thirty or forty miles 
to secure one, and no friendly neighbors to 
help to nurse and care for the sick. 

Illness first visited the half-faced camp and 
two members of that household died. Before 
they were buried, Mrs. Lincoln was stricken 
with the disease. For seven days she suffered. 
Her husband and children did what they could 
to relieve her pain, but in spite of their best 



THE INDIANA HOME. 29 1 

efforts she grew steadily worse, and on the 
seventh day she knew that she must die. 

As she placed her hand in blessing on the 
head of her ragged, ill-favored boy she saw 
only the love and sorrow that made his plain 
face very beautiful to her. At that moment 
she cared little whether he should ever become 
a great man or not. Her wish was that he 
should be a good one; that the deep, tender 
love he had always shown Jier might never die 
in his heart. 

With heavy sorrow her husband and son 
made the pine coffin and dug the grave of 
Nancy Hanks Lincoln. There was no clergy- 
man to say a prayer nor tell her virtues when 
she was buried in the wheat-field, but her 
husband made the prayer, and neither he nor 
her children needed any one to remind them 
how patient, how uncomplaining, how kind 
and thoughtful for others had always been the 
woman of whom Abraham Lincoln said when 
he had grown to manhood : '* God bless my 
mother; all that I am or ever hope to be, I 
owe to her." 



292 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

But these simple people had a strong wish 
to pay full respect to the dead. So, as was 
customary, when a travelling preacher came 
into the neighborhood a few months later, a 
formal funeral service was held for those who 
had died in the settlement. People came from 
far and near to hear the long sermon and say 
a word of comfort to the mourners. 

That winter was a wretched one for the 
Lincoln children. They found even the primi- 
tive housekeeping of the frontier difficult. It 
was easy to make corn-bread and to bake 
potatoes in the ashes, but to do it every day^ 
to keep up the supply of salt and meal, to 
roast a wild turkey on a spit without burning 
it, to provide clothes to take the place of those 
worn out and outgrown, to keep the crowded 
little room with its mud floor decently clean — 
those were tasks that proved too much for Abe 
and his sister. 

Besides, they were lonely; when storms 
raged, or when their father stayed away late 
hunting, and they heard the dismal cries of 
wild animals in the darkness, there was no one 



THE INDIANA HOME. 293 

to reassure them. They missed their mother 
very much. It was a glad day for them in 
December, a year later, after an absence of 
several days, their father came driving up to 
the cabin in a big moving wagon, bringing 
with him a kind-hearted, thrifty woman to be a 
second mother to them, and her son and two 
daughters. 

At first the Lincoln children were shy and 
afraid to speak to the strangers. The neatly 
brushed and braided hair of the little girls 
made Sarah Lincoln conscious of the tousled 
condition of her own head. The clean, well- 
fitting clothes of the boy made Abe wish- his 
shrunken buckskin breeches were more ample. 

But the sweet face and motherly ways of the 
new Mrs. Lincoln soon made the children feel 
at ease, and before long they were lending 
willing hands to unload the wagon. With 
wonder and delight they saw the goodly array 
of kettles and bright pans, the great soft 
feather bed, the pile of patchwork quilts, and 
the fine black walnut bureau with drawers full 
of clean clothes. 



294 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

Mrs. Lincoln was used to living in a com- 
fortable, neat cabin, and she went to work at 
once to make the best of her new home. 
Under her direction Thomas Lincoln put in a 
good floor, took down the old skins flapping at 
windows and doorways, and put in their place 
windows and doors ; and soon order and clean- 
liness reigned in the cabin. 

Though clean, the house was now very 
crowded, for Mr. Lincoln had two children and 
Mrs. Lincoln had three, and the two Hanks' 
children from the half-faced camp had come 
to live with them. 



CHAPTER III. 
ROUGH SCHOOLING. 

Every year more settlers came to live in 
Spencer County, Indiana. When Abe Lincoln 
reached his eleventh year there were enough 
families living near to make it worth while to 
build a school-house. 

The school-house was, like most of the 
dwelling houses, a small low building made of 
round logs. The chinks were daubed with 
clay to keep out the wind and rain. The floor 
was made of split logs with the flat faces 
turned upward. Oiled paper or parchment 
took the place of window-glass. 

To-day we should think the teachers who 
held sway there very ignorant men. They 
knew how to read and write and spell ; they 
also knew the simple processes in arithmetic. 
That was about all the book knowledge that 
was required of a backwoods schoolmaster in 

295 



296 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

the early part of the nineteenth century. The 
settlers did not see the use of more advanced 
learning. 

Indeed, many of them thought these subjects 
more than necessary for their children to study. 
Thomas Lincoln was impatient that a strong, 
able-bodied boy like Abraham should waste 
his time reading words in a book and making 
figures on a shingle. Young Abe's step- 
mother felt differently. She was very fond of 
him, as her words spoken years later show. 

She said : '' I can say what scarcely one 
mother in a thousand can say. Abe never 
gave me a cross word or look, and never re- 
fused in fact or in appearance to do anything 
I asked him. His mind and mine, what little 
I had, seemed to run together. I had a son 
John, who was raised with Abe ; both were 
good boys, but I must say, both, now being 
dead, that Abe was the best boy I ever saw or 
ever expect to see." 

She had great respect for schools and books, 
and was determined that Abe should have as 
good opportunities as the other children in the 



ROUGH SCHOOLING. 297 

district. He liked to go to school and enjoyed 
study. He worked so hard at his lessons that 
he soon stood at the head of his classes. But 
he had gained little more than a good start 
before the money for paying the teacher was 
exhausted and the school was closed. 

He attended school a few months when he 
was ten years old, again when he was four- 
teen, and again when sixteen. But so brief 
were the terms and so irregular was his attend- 
ance that in all, counting his schooling in 
Kentucky, he was not in school twelve months 
during his life. 

At school he learned enough to enable him 
to study at home. His mother was proud of 
the fine legible hand he wrote, of the ease and 
rapidity with which he read, and of his reputa- 
tion as the best speller in the district. She en- 
couraged him to read and to figure, and treated 
his study as a matter so important that even 
his father came to take pride in Abe's scholar- 
ship, and no one disturbed him while he read 
or wrote. 

This does not mean that he was excused 



298 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

from doing manual work that he might study. 
When school was open, besides the walk there 
and back, which was always long, in one case 
being four and a half miles each way, he had 
to work before and after school hours. And 
when there was no school he was obliged to 
spend the best part of the day at work. 

His father was a carpenter and tried to teach 
Abraham his trade. The youth made a chest 
of drawers and two or three small articles of 
furniture, but he did not care for the craft, and 
there were so many chances to do farm work 
that he gave the most of his time to that. 

He grew rapidly, and by the time he was 
eighteen years old was six feet three inches 
tall. Though spare and angular, he was re- 
markably strong, and it is said no man in the 
country round about could drive an ax so far 
into an oak tree as he. His strength made 
him much in demand as a farm hand. 

He cut a wider swath in the grass or grain 
than any other laborer; the trees fell rapidly 
under the telling strokes of his strong arm. 
When several workmen stood trying to move 



ROUGH SCHOOLING. 299 

a great log with a lever, he picked it up and 
carried it to the desired place. While he 
worked few could equal him. 

The difficulty was to keep him at work, for 
he was only a boy and not fond of hard work. 
He liked to tell stories and play rough jokes 
on his fellow- workmen. He was sometimes 
found by his angry employer standing on a 
stump delivering a political speech or a mock 
sermon to an audience of laughing farm hands 
who should have been at work. 

If the farmer heard the funny stories and 
droll remarks of the young orator, he usually 
had to join in the laugh in spite of himself 
Once an employer, finding him idle when he 
should have been at work, demanded, '* Didn't 
your father ever teach you to work?" "Yes," 
replied the exasperating boy, *' he taught me to 
work, but he didn't teach me to love it." 

When he had a motive for work he could 
keep at it as well as any one. On one occa- 
sion he damaged a book he had borrowed from 
Mr. Crawford, a farmer of grasping nature and 
harsh manners. The book was a copy of 



300 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

Weem's Life of IVashington, Abe had put 
it in a chink between two logs in the wall, near 
his bed. A driving rain coming up in the night 
had soaked the book so that its covers were 
bulging and ruined. 

A book was an invaluable thing to young 
Lincoln. When he discovered the mishap 
he was greatly troubled. His stepmother 
suggested, however, that it would be possi- 
ble to pay for the book. He went straight- 
way to Mr. Crawford, told him what had 
happened, and said to him he was willing to 
work to pay for the injury. Mr. Crawford said 
the book was worth seventy-five cents, and 
directed him to pull fodder in a certain field 
for three days. 

Young Lincoln afterward related, in the 
following words, his effort to make good his 
carelessness : '' You see, I am tall and long 
armed, and I went to work in earnest. At the 
end of two days there was not a corn-blade or 
a stalk left in the field. I wanted to pay full 
damage for all the whetting the book got, and 
I made a clean sweep." 



ROUGH SCHOOLING. 3OI 

This little incident shows how precious a 
thing a bodk was in the life of the boy. He 
had few and, indeed, there were but few in all 
the neighboring country. When he heard of 
any one who had a book, he would go miles 
to borrow it, and then read it with the greatest 
eagerness. 

John Hanks tells how, when young Lincoln 
came home from a day's work in the field, 
barefoot, he would go to the cupboard, snatch 
a piece of corn-bread, take down a book, sit 
down, cock his legs as high as his head, and 
read as long as it was light ; then, lying on the 
floor in front of the fire-place, with the aid of 
the glowing coals, he would read on into the 
night. 

The books most familiar to him were Weem's 
Life of IVashington, ^sop's Fables, Pilgrim s 
Progress, and the Bible. He is said to have 
found a book of the laws of Indiana and to 
have read it with as much interest as other 
boys give to exciting tales of adventure. 
When he borrowed a book he copied the 
passages he wished to remember in a note- 



302 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



book. These he read and explained to his 
stepmother. • 

He often wrote original compositions in his 
note-book. But paper was so scarce that he 
more frequently chalked his compositions on a 
wooden shovel with a piece of charcoal. When 
the surface was covered he was sometimes 
obliged to shave off the first part of his essay 
to make room for the last. This made him 
careful to write what he had to say in the 
smallest number of words possible. 

His mother was so well pleased with his 
productions that he sought a wider audience 
for them. To the loungers at the village store 
his ideas were new and startling. His asser- 
tion that the sun did not move around the 
earth every day, but that the earth did the 
moving, they laughed at as impossible and 
ridiculous, but before he had finished talking 
he had made it all very plain. 

Some of his papers were on such subjects 
as "Kindness to Animals," "The Importance 
of Temperance," etc., etc. Others were merely 
rude, coarse jingles or burlesques. He had a 



ROUGH SCHOOLING. 303 

good deal of information on political questions, 
and was regarded as a wonder by the frontiers- 
men who listened to his papers or speeches. 
His eagerness for knowledge surpassed that 
of his associates ; his appreciation of what was 
fine and good exceeded theirs. His interest 
and sympathies, while firmly rooted in a very 
low social plane, were already reaching beyond 
it. 



CHAPTER IV. 
OF AGE. 

When young Lincoln was eighteen years 
old he began to wish to strike out into the 
world and try his fortune. But the thought 
that it was his duty to obey and work for 
his father until he was twenty-one kept him 
toiling faithfully on the old farm. 

In 1828, with his father's approval, he under- 
took a business enterprise quite unlike any- 
thing he had done heretofore. In those days, 
when there were no railroads and few good 
wagon-roads, transportation was carried on 
chiefly on rivers. A rich farmer in Spencer 
county, Mr. Gentry, wished to send a flat-boat 
load of produce down the Ohio and the Missis- 
sippi, to be sold at the towns along the rivers. 
He made arrangements with Thomas Lincoln 
that Abraham should take charge of this 
business. 
304 



OF AGE. 305 

Young Lincoln made the trip and disposed 
of the produce to the satisfaction of his em- 
ployer. He had occasion to prove his courage 
as well as business ability on this trip. One 
night, while his boat was tied up near Baton 
Rouge, a band of negroes came aboard with 
the intention of plundering the boat. Young 
Lincoln, roused from sleep by the noise they 
made, rushed among them brandishing a heavy 
club with his long arms, and drove the in- 
truders off howling to the plantation from 
which they had come. 

The rest of the journey was made without 
disturbance or accident. A short time after 
this Thomas Lincoln, influenced by John 
Hanks' reports of the rich farming-land in 
Illinois, resolved to move once more. He 
turned his farm over to Mr. Gentry, sold his 
stock, and started in February with his wife 
and son, her son, and her daughters and their 
husbands to the prairie State. 

The household possessions of all these people 
were comfortably stowed into a moving wagon 
drawn by two yoke of oxen, and still there was 



306 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

room for the women to ride in the wagon. 
Abraham was now of age, and free to use his 
time and strength for himself But, though 
he had longed for this freedom, he was now 
determined to see his father and his step- 
mother settled in their new home before 
claiming it. 

The journey lasted for two weeks and was 
so difficult that the movers were glad to have 
this strong-armed, willing-handed member of 
their family with them. They had started 
early, so that they might get their plowing 
done and their seed planted in good season. 
It was a poor time to travel, for the frost was 
not yet out of the ground, and after the sun 
rose the surface became so soft that the wagon 
wheels cut deep ruts in the rough earth, and 
it required all the strength of the oxen to make 
any progress. 

The streams froze over at night, and the oxen 
had to break their way through the thin ice to 
cross them. Abraham, for the most part, 
tramped beside the wagon, goad in hand, to 
keep the slowly plodding animals at their best 



OF AGE. 307 

speed, or to add his strength to theirs to pull 
the wagon out of the mire. 

Ha has told of one incident that happened 
on this journey which is very characteristic of 
him. After the family had crossed a broad but 
shallow stream, coated with thin ice, they 
missed their little yellow dog, and, looking 
back, they saw him barking furiously on the 
far shore. 

Abraham wanted the company to turn back 
to get the forlorn little dog, but the men 
agreed that they could not spare the time to 
go back for the useless, troublesome little 
creature. He walked on, thinking he would 
accept their decision, but he could not endure 
the idea of deserting the affectionate little 
dependent, and, turning back, took off his 
shoes, rolled up his trousers, and waded 
through the icy water to rescue the overjoyed 
little animal. 

These pioneers were not bound for the tree- 
less prairies. They sought the wooded lands 
along a river, that they might have wood for 
building and for fuel. John Hanks had already 



308 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

selected a site for them, and had cut the timber 
for a cabin. There were so many men in the 
company that a house was quickly built. 

After that was done Abraham Lincoln, with 
the help of John Hanks, plowed fifteen acres 
of land, and split enough rails from the walnut 
trees growing near the river to build a rail 
fence around the clearing. We shall hear 
again of these fence-rails. They were destined 
to play a picturesque part at a critical moment 
in Lincoln's life. 

The first months of Abraham Lincoln's 
majority were devoted to hard but cheerful 
service for others. Thomas Lincoln was not 
able, like some of his more prosperous neigh- 
bors, to start his son in life with a farm of his 
own or a mill or a shop. The latter left his 
father s home with an empty purse. 

But from the hard frontier life he had known 
he had gained much good, much that is of 
more value than gold ; in spite of malaria, 
exposure, discomforts, and poor food, he had 
developed great physical strength, a rugged 
constitution, and iron muscles ; notwithstand- 



OF AGE. 309 

ing scant schooling, the lack of books, and 
association with only illiterate people, he had 
discovered a sense of intellectual power and 
an ambition to make the most of it. 

Out of much privation and hardship he had 
brought a sound, genuine sense of humor and 
an easy-going good nature not often disturbed; 
among people rough and harsh in speech and 
manners, where moral standards were low, he 
had developed a character of inflexible integ- 
rity and honor. 

Lincoln was not a venturesome youth and 
did not, on attaining his independence, greatly 
change his manner of living. He stayed near 
his father's house, splitting rails and working 
as a hired hand for neighboring settlers. One 
of his first enterprises was to provide himself 
with a respectable suit of clothes. He made 
a bargain with a woman who spun cloth to 
split fourteen hundred rails for a pair of 
trousers. 

Through the influence of John Hanks he 
was engaged by Denton Offut to take a cargo 
of goods down the Mississippi. The trip was 



3IO ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

noteworthy in that on this expedition Lincoln 
was for the first time roused to the horrors of 
slavery, for he saw men chained together and 
driven through the streets, and women and 
children sold at auction. 

He showed himself so efficient in managing 
the sale of the goods that his employer engaged 
him to sell merchandise for him at a village 
called New Salem, on the Sangamon River, in 
Illinois. Lincoln arrived at the village before 
his employer had come with the goods, and 
passed a few days there without work. 

One of these days was election day. The 
schoolmaster of the village was to act as one 
of the election clerks ; the man w^ho was to 
assist him was ill, and he could think of no 
one to take his place. Seeing the stranger, the 
schoolmaster asked him if he could write. 
The best penman of the Gentryville school 
replied that he could make a few "rabbit 
tracks," and was asked to act as clerk. 

The voters, having many of them come from 
some distance to cast their votes, had no 
notion of going home as soon as that im- 



OF AGE. 311 

portant but brief duty was performed. They 
lounged around the poles most of the day. 
They showed some interest in the strange 
clerk, who proved to be most agreeable and 
entertaining ; drawing on his fund of anecdotes 
and amusing backwoods' experiences, he told 
story after story, to the great delight of his 
hearers. 

A few days later Offut appeared, and with 
Lincoln's assistance opened his store. There 
was a roystering gang of youths from Clary's 
Grove, who carried affairs with a high hand in 
New Salem, and when they found that Lincoln 
had come to stay they looked curiously at him. 
It was their custom to give a new-comer a 
welcome that would prove his mettle. 

They sometimes nailed him up in a hogs- 
head and rolled the hogshead down a hill ; 
sometimes they drew him into a quarrel and 
tried his muscle in a fist-fight. But the tall, 
good-natured clerk in Offut's store had so 
ready a tongue and seemed in every way so 
well able to take care of himself, that he might 
have escaped the ordeal had it not been for 



312 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

his admiring employer, who boasted that Lin- 
coln knew more than any other man in the 
county and could whip any man in Sangamon 
County. 

The Clary's Grove boys were willing to 
admit his superior knowledge, but not his 
stouter fists, and they arranged for a fight 
between him and their leader. Jack Armstrong. 
The event caused great excitement. 

For some time Lincoln contented himself 
with warding off Armstrong's blows, but when 
the latter lost his temper and dealt an unfair 
blow, the long-armed giant from Indiana put 
forth his whole strength and, taking his oppo- 
nent by the throat, lifted him from the ground 
and shook him till he was breathless. 

After this rather severe punishment, Lincoln 
had no warmer admirers or more generous 
friends in New Salem than Jack Armstrong 
and his followers. Through his funny stories 
and his remarkable strength Lincoln had 
quickly gained the good-will of the towns- 
people. 

His duties at the store did not take all his 



OF AGE. 313 

time, and he spent many hours in study. He 
learned from the schoohnaster that a man 
living seven miles away owned a grammar. 
He walked that distance to borrow the book. 
In a short time he had mastered the rules it 
contained, and had begun to analyze his own 
sentences and correct his errors. 

He took a keen interest in the affairs of the 
town. The burning question at New Salem 
was whether or not the Sangamon River could 
be converted into a navigable stream. Lincoln 
took an active part in the discussion to prove 
that the river could be navigated. 

When the Black Hawk War broke out Lin- 
coln enlisted. He was made captain of a 
company of young men of the Clary's Grove 
type, who were quite able to take care of them- 
selves and had no idea of military discipline. 
Lincoln was just the man to be their captain, 
for he had qualities they could appreciate. 

His strength and bravery won their admira- 
tion; his friendliness, their affection; his dignity 
and firmness, their respect. He made a point 
of getting personally acquainted with all his 



3 14 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

soldiers, and made lasting and devoted friends 
of most of them. 

In 1848, when making a speech in Congress 
ridiculing the attempt to make a military hero 
of General Cass, he made the following amus- 
ing reference to his own experience in the 
Black Hawk War: '* Did you know, Mr. 
Speaker, I am a military hero? In the days of 
the Black Hawk War I fought, bled, and came 
away. I was not in Stillman's defeat, but I 
was about as near it as General Cass was to 
Hull's surrender; and, like him, I saw the 
place very soon afterward. 

" It is quite certain I did not break my 
sword, for I had none to break, but I bent my 
musket pretty badly on one occasion. If 
General Cass went in advance of me picking 
whortle-berries, I guess I surpassed him in 
charges on the wild onions. If he saw any 
live, fighting Indians, it was more than I did, 
but I had a good many bloody struggles with 
the mosquitoes, and, although I never fainted 
from loss of blood, I can truly say I was often 
very hungry." 



OF AGE. 315 

In truth, the hardships that the volunteers 
were called upon to suffer — the long tramps^ 
the want of provisions — seemed small matters 
to a man brought up in such want as Lincoln 
had always known. When the time for which 
he had volunteered his services expired, he 
re-enlisted. But the war was soon over; the 
rebellious Black Hawk was taken prisoner, and 
the volunteers were discharged. 



I 



CHAPTER V. 
A POLITICIAN. 

When the Black Hawk War was over 
Lincoln had no work and no home. He 
went back to New Salem. It was time for 
the election of a representative for the State 
Legislature. Lincoln's success as a speaker 
had roused in him political ambitions, and he 
now announced himself as a candidate for the 
Legislature. 

The great political parties at that time were 
the Whig and the Democratic. The Demo- 
cratic party was the stronger. It was most 
popular among the poorer people in the North. 
A poor young man without influential friends, 
who wanted a public office, stood a better 
chance of success if he belonged to that 
party. 

Lincoln wanted to be elected, but if he could 

316 



A POLITICIAN. 317 

not be elected without sacrificing his political 
views, he would remain all his life a private 
citizen. He boldly announced himself a Whig. 
Only ten days intervened between his return 
from the war and election day, but he went to 
work with a will. He issued a circular in 
which he declared his political views, and made 
speeches in New Salem and in other towns 
near by. 

He was a tall, gawky looking fellow, wearing 
a wide-brimmed straw hat without a band, a 
homespun shirt and claw-hammer coat, and tow 
trousers that did not meet his shoes by several 
inches. People said when they saw him, '' Is 
that the best man the Whigs can find to rep- 
resent them?" But when they heard him 
speak they realized that the Whig candidate 
was not the clown he looked. 

In his brief campaign he won so many votes 
that he was nearly elected. In the New Salem 
precinct only three of two hundred and eight 
votes cast were against him. The result of 
his first experience in politics was so encourag- 
ing to the young man that he resolved to study 



3l8 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

law, and to make law and politics the business 
of his life. 

But in the meantime he was very poor and 
must live. He looked around for some em- 
ployment that would keep him in food and 
clothes, that would give him an opportunity to 
see and talk with men, and that would allow 
him time for study. He cared little about 
making money. He did not value greatly the 
things that money can buy. His ambition 
was not to be a wealthy man, but to be a man 
of influence, and his present aim was to fit 
himself to be that. 

Had Offut not left New Salem, Lincoln 
would have been glad to continue as his clerk ; 
for the life of a storekeeper combined the three 
advantages he was on the look out for : it fur- 
nished a livelihood ; it gave an opportunity 
for knowing men, as the store was the general 
lounging-place ; and it offered him time for 
reading and study. 

It is not surprising, then, that Lincoln con- 
sented to buy on credit a half interest in a 
general supply-store in New Salem. Nor is 



A POLITICIAN. 



319 



it surprising that, as his partner was a worth- 
less fellow, and Lincoln spent more time lying 
on the counter reading law books or tilted 
back in a chair arguing politics with village 
loafers than in tending to business, the firm 
soon failed. This left Lincoln without work 
and burdened with a heavy debt. 

In a short time he was made deputy county 
surveyor. He knew nothing about surveying 
but he got some books and, with the help of 
the scoolmaster, by diligent application learned 
what he needed to know in order to do his 
work. He learned to use the transit and the 
surveyor s chain so well, and was so accurate 
in his calculations and in his work, that he 
was often called upon to settle disputes about 
the location of boundaries, and his decision 
was accepted as final. 

He was also made post-master of New 
Salem. So little mail came to the village that 
he carried it around in his hat. The salary 
was also very slight, and the chief advantage 
he drew from this office seems to have been 
the opportunity it gave him to read all the 



320 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

newspapers that were received by the citizens 
of New Salem. 

He had secured some law books and was 
studying earnestly. When he went on a sur- 
veying trip he took a book and read as he 
rode. He made some blank books and prac- 
tised writing out deeds and abstracts. Some- 
times he went into the courts and acted as 
attorney for some man who was too poor to 
employ a regular lawyer. 

While studying, he kept up his friendly rela- 
tions with the young men of the town. He 
did not think, as some young politicians do, 
that he must do all the weak and foolish 
things his friends did in order to keep their 
favor. He did not smoke or use tobacco or " 
drink as they did ; he did not, like them, swear 
or bet. Yet he was their hero. 

They laughed loud and long at his stories, 
and quoted them to all they met; they de- 
clared there was not a man in the county who 
was Lincoln's match at runniner or at throwing 
or lifting heavy weights ; they told great tales : 
of how at the cooper's shop he had lifted a box I 



A POLITICIAN. 321 

of stones that weighed half a ton ; how he had 
lifted a barrel of whisky, and other incredible 
feats of strength. 

His reputation for fair play and justice was 
as good as his reputation for skill and strength, 
and he was called upon to act as judge in all 
sorts of contests from cock-fights to political 
debates. They thought he knew all there 
was to know. They were proud to serve him 
in any way. Thus early he began to win 
the confidence and loyalty of those who knew 
him best. 

This being the case, his political ambitions 
were constantly encouraged. At the next elec- 
tion he was made a member of the Legislature. 
He felt the dignity of the office, provided him- 
self with a decent suit of jeans, and took his 
place among the law-makers of Illinois with a 
determination to acquit himself in such a way 
as to do credit to his district. 

Vandalia was then the State capital. Here 
Lincoln met men of broader education and 
more liberal culture than those he had known 
at Gentryville and New Salem, and from these 



322 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

he learned much. Among them he met a 
Democrat named Stephen A. Douglas. The 
latter was as much below the average height as 
Lincoln was above it. 

Together they made a strange-looking pair. 
In the future they were to be closely associated 
with each other. Notwithstanding the limited 
opportunities for improvement that Lincoln 
had had, he impressed his fellow legislators as 
a young man of great force of character and 
sagacity. He was repeatedly re-elected by 
the voters of his district. 

During his service as a State legislator no 
act brought him greater local popularity and 
commendation than the part he took in getting 
the State capital moved from Vandalia to 
Springfield. This made him a hero in the 
eyes of the citizens of Sangamon County. 
The people of Springfield gave a banquet in 
his honor, and the other villages in the county 
followed its example. 

Among the toasts given at these banquets 
were these : ''Abraham Lincoln — he has ful- 
filled the expectations of his friends and 



A poLrriciAN. 323 

disappointed the hopes of his enemies " and 
'' Abraham Lincoln — one of nature's noble- 
men." The most characteristic act performed 
by Lincoln during his service as legislator, 
however, was one that did not increase his 
popularity. 

In the North and West there was a 
strong sentiment against Abolitionists, who 
were regarded as disturbing spirits and mis- 
chief-makers. The Legislatures of many of 
the States passed resolutions denouncing their 
utterances and acts. The feeling against the 
Abolitionists was especially strong in southern 
Illinois, which was settled chiefly by Kentucky 
people, many of whom sympathized with the 
slave-holding South. 

In 1837 resolutions declaring disapproval of 
the Abolitionists were passed by the General 
Assembly of Illinois almost unanimously. It 
was merely a political measure, intended to 
have no effect on the actions of men. Many 
in Lincoln's place would have thought they 
had done their full duty in voting against the 
resolutions. But Lincoln could not allow them 



324 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



to go on record without a protest; he drew 
up one worded most guardedly but declaring 
plainly that '' the undersigned believe that the 
institution of slavery is founded on both in- 
justice and bad policy." 

In the Assembly he could find only one 
member who would add his signature to the 
document, but he nevertheless passed it in. 
It is known in history as the Lincoln-Stone I 
protest, Lincoln's first official measure against 
slavery. 



CHAPTER VI. 
A LAWYER. 

In March, 1837, Lincoln was licensed to 
practice law. As a member of the Legislature 
he had come to feel at home in Springfield, 
where, as we have seen, he was exceedingly 
popular. When, therefore, he received from 
John T. Stuart, one of the established lawyers 
of Springfield, an invitation to become his 
partner, he resolved to accept it and make 
Springfield his home. 

Accordingly, he borrowed a horse and rode 
into the capital one morning with all his 
worldly goods, a few books and some clothes, 
stuffed into the saddle-bags. He was not 
particular about the sort of place he lived in. 
The cost and trouble of securing a lodging- 
place depressed his spirits. 

He enquired of the cabinet-maker the price 
of a single bed. Then he went to his friend, 

325 



326 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

Joshua F. Speed, and asked him what the 
cheapest mattress, pillow, and blankets would 
be worth. His friend said he could furnish 
him a comfortable bed for seventeen dollars. 

*'That is no doubt cheap enough," said Lin- 
coln, mournfully, "but I haven't seventeen 
dollars to my name. If you are willing to give 
me credit till Christmas I may be able to pay 
you, but that depends on whether or not I 
succeed at law." ''You make a very grave 
matter of a slight expense," replied the other; 
" if it troubles you so much, come share my 
big room and big double bed, and it will cost 
you nothing." 

''Where is it?" demanded Lincoln, eagerly. 
" Overhead, over the store," answered Speed, 
pointing to the stairs. Lincoln took his saddle- 
bags on his arm without a word and went up 
stairs. In a few minutes he returned, his face 
beaming with smiles, and announced, "Well, 
Speed, I'm moved." Thus simply was his 
perplexity solved through his friend's kind- 
ness. 

The store was the meeting place of many 



A LAWYER. 327 

of the promising young men of Springfield. 
They gathered about the great fireplace and 
talked politics and told stories. Lincoln was 
soon leader of the group. In 1842 he married 
Mary Todd, a well-educated, accomplished 
young woman, a member of an aristocratic 
Southern family. Her sister had married a 
Springfield man who was a friend of Lincoln's, 
and it was at their home that Lincoln and 
Miss Todd became acquainted. 

Mrs. Lincoln was ambitious for her hus- 
band's advancement, and did much to help him 
overcome his extreme peculiarities of dress, 
speech, and manner. After his marriage Lin- 
coln and his wife made their home at the 
Globe Tavern, an unpretentious inn, where 
their board cost only four dollars a week. 
In 1844 he bought a comfortable frame house, 
which was his home for the rest of his life^ 
with the exception of those years spent in 
Washington. 

Mr. Lincoln's attention was henceforth di- 
vided between politics and law. While in 
Springfield he was at different times a member 



328 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

of three different law firms : Stuart & Lincoln, 
Logan & Lincoln, and Lincoln & Herndon. 
Even after he was made president he retained 
his membership in the last-named firm. 

He had no great knowledge of law, but he 
had great honesty and common sense and 
knowledge of human nature, and was so suc- 
cessful in winning cases that he became a 
most popular advocate. Though he was in 
debt and needed money, he was never so 
eager for profit as to forget what he con- 
sidered his duty. 

He believed that a lawyer should never 
encourage strife, but should, on the contrary, 
be a peacemaker and discourage lawsuits 
where he could. He refused to take many a 
case simply because he believed the man who 
wished to employ him was in the wrong. He 
dismissed one would-be client in this fashion: 
"Yes, we can doubtless gain your case for 
you ; we can set a whole neighborhood at 
loggerheads ; we can distress a wudowed 
mother and her six fatherless children, and 
thereby get for you six hundred dollars to 



A LAWYER. 329 

which you seem to have a legal claim, but 
which rightfully belongs, it appears to me, as 
much to the woman and her children as it 
does to you. 

'•You must remember that some things 
legally right are not morally so. We shall 
not take your case, but will give you a little 
advice for which we will charge you nothing. 
You seem to be a sprightly, energetic man ; 
we would advise you to try your hand at 
making six hundred dollars in some other 
way." 

Indeed, Lincoln's habit of taking only the 
side which he believed to be right was so well 
known that his very presence in a case had 
great weight with a jury. 

His office was equipped with two green 
baize tables, a case of pigeon-holes, a couch, 
a few chairs, and a few books. It was an 
untidy, dreary place, but those in distress who 
climbed the narrow stairs that led to it were 
sure of not being turned away because they 
were not able to pay a large fee. 

One day Hannah Armstrong, the wife of 



330 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

the wrestler who had welcomed' Lincoln to 
New Salem with a fight, came to the office of 
the latter in great trouble. Her son was to be 
tried for murder. Lincoln heard her story 
and promised her that her boy should be 
cleared before sundown. The chief witness 
said he had seen William Armstrong commit 
the murder by the light of the moon. 

Lincoln was very particular to make the 
witness state at just what time the deed was 
done, how far away he was, and how^ clearly 
he could see in the moonlight. Then he 
astonished every one by drawing an almanac 
from his pocket and showing that the moon 
was not shining at the time the witness claimed 
to have seen the murder committed. 

When the overjoyed mother learned that 
her son was saved, she hastened to Lincoln to 
thank him and to ask him what she owed him 
for his services. He answered her that he 
had not forgotten the old days at New Salem 
when he was penniless, and she and her hus- 
band had befriended him and made him 
welcome in their house to the best they had. 



A LAWYER. 331 

He refused to take any fee from the poor 
woman. 

Lincoln had Httle business method. If he 
had an unusual or difficult case he worked 
hard over it, but for an ordinary case he made 
little formal preparation. He planned his line 
of argument, took a few notes, which he 
usually carried in his high silk hat, and that 
was all. 

He was much in demand as an attorney in 
various Illinois towns, and wherever Judge 
Davis was holding court Lincoln was pretty 
sure to be one of the company of lawyers that 
''rode the circuit" with him. In travelling 
from place to place he rode horseback or drove 
in a dilapidated old buggy. The lawyers, 
when attending the circuit court, boarded and 
lodged together in some inn or large private 
house. 

' They were treated with great respect and 
given the best the host had to offer, but even 
the best was not very good. They often slept 
two in a bed, four in a room. However 
crowded the room or poor the fare Lincoln 



^^2 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

never complained. He easily accommodated 
himself to circumstances, and enjoyed going 
on the circuit. 

While his companions slept he often studied 
till two o'clock in the morning. He studied 
by the light of a kerosene lamp placed on a 
rush-bottom chair beside his bed. The light 
was poor, the room was cold ; why not go 
comfortably to sleep like the others ? If the 
temptation came, he did not often yield. It 
was in those night hours that he learned 
geometry and read Shakespeare. 

In the daytime, when not in court, he was 
usually the center of an interested group of 
townspeople and fellow-lawyers assembled to 
listen to and laugh at his shrewd sayings and 
funny stories. 

In court he spoke in a slow, drawling way 
and seemed rather listless. Those who did 
not know him thought he must be a poor 
sort of a lawyer, but they soon learned better. 
It was his habit to grant to his opponent — with 
an indifferent '* I reckon I must be wTong" or 
" I reckon it's fair to let that in " — all the 



A LAWYER. 333 

points he could justly claim ; but as the 
opposing lawyer began to feel that the victory 
was his, Lincoln would introduce some clinch- 
ing argument against him. 

He was a sharp, clear reasoner, and though 
apparently inattentive and indifferent, was 
most alert. Besides, he had oratorical powers 
which won the sympathy of the jury for his 
cause; he was a matchless mimic, and was 
able to use mimicry, irony, sarcasm, and funny 
stories to put the jury into a good humor or 
make his opponent appear ridiculous. 

He was quite as able, when the case de- 
manded it, to rouse a sense of righteous indig- 
nation or even to make the honest-hearted 
jurors weep out of pity for his client. These 
gifts, added to the prevailing confidence in his 
honesty, made him a powerful advocate in a 
community where the question " Is it lawful ?" 
was less important than the question *' Is it 
right?" 



CHAPTER VII. 
POLITICAL SUCCESS. 

The qualities that made Lincoln a success- 
ful lawyer also contributed to make him a 
successful politician. He had been recognized 
in local politics for some time before he was 
called upon to take part in national affairs. In 
1840, when General William Henry Harrison 
was nominated for the presidency, Lincoln was 
made presidential elector. 

General Harrison had been closely identi- 
fied with western life, having been governor 
of Indiana Territory and the hero of Tippe- 
canoe. The log-cabin and hard cider figured 
prominently in the campaign. Lincoln stumped 
the State for Harrison. His speeches attracted 
much attention. Sometimes he held debates 
with Stephen A. Douglas, a Democratic 
speaker, who was very shrewd and able. The 
334 



POLITICAL SUCCESS. 335 

debates held by these two popular speakers 
drew great crowds. 

Having represented his district in the 
State Assembly for several years, Lincoln was 
elected Congressional Representative in 1846. 
He thought now the opportunity had come to 
make his mark in the political world ; his con- 
stituents were fond and proud of him ; he 
learned that they were waiting impatiently for 
their ** Honest Abe," as they called him, to 
distinguish himself. 

The war with Mexico was in progress. Lin- 
coln knew that the men who had elected him 
favored the war, but he was opposed to it. He 
contended that it was unnecessary and had 
been begun unconstitutionally. He declared 
the president had no right to plunge the nation 
into war. He was not only sure that his views 
were right, but he believed that the men who 
had elected him would believe as he did if 
they knew what he knew. 

He did not in the least doubt that he would 
be able to show them that he was right. He 
made a brilliant speech against the president's 



336 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

policy, but his friends in Sangamon County 
were so displeased with its contents that they 
cared nothing for its brilliancy. Nor was he 
able by other work to redeem himself in their 
estimation. When his term ended he was 
not re-elected. 

In many ways his experience at the national 
capital was helpful to him. There he came in 
touch with the great thinkers of the nation. 
He saw and heard educated, experienced 
statesmen, such men as Daniel Webster and 
John C. Calhoun. Though he realized his 
own defects when he compared himself with 
such men, he was not discouraged. He saw 
that, in spite of his limited opportunities, he 
could reason as well as any one, and he had 
no difficulty in holding attention when he 
addressed the House. 

He resolved to study hard to make up for 
defects in his education, and it was after this 
that he studied geometry while practising law. 
For five years after his return from Washing- 
ton he devoted his attention to law and gave 
little time to politics. In 1854, when, through 



POLITICAL SUCCESS. 337 

the efforts of Stephen A. Douglas, the Missouri 
Compromise was repealed and the Kansas- 
Nebraska Bill was framed, he was roused once 
more to take an active part in public affairs. 

Lincoln still believed, as he had long before 
declared in the Lincoln-Stone protest, that 
the institution of *' slavery is founded on both 
injustice and bad policy." He, therefore, re- 
gretted this new law withdrawing the restraint 
that had existed to the spread of slavery in 
the United States, and making it possible for 
the settlers in the territories to decide whether 
they should come into the Union as slave or 
free States. 

General excitement prevailed. Proslavery 
men were sending "squatters" into the terri- 
tories to vote for slavery; the Abolitionists, 
full of wrath, were hurrying to the frontier to 
look after the interests of freedom. Border- 
war broke out along the boundary between 
Kansas and Missouri, and shocking outrages 
were enacted there daily. 

While the Abolitionists and Proslavery 
Democrats contended with bitterness, many of 



338 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

the Whigs and not a few anti-slavery Demo- 
crats looked on with indignation at the aggres- 
sive measures of those interested in the 
extension of slavery. On returning to Illinois, 
Douglas found himself unpopular even in his 
own party. He saw he would have to explain 
to the people of Illinois what he had done in 
Washington. 

During the State fair he visited Springfield 
and made a speech on Popular Sovereignty. 
So adroitly did he handle the question that he 
seemed to be regaining the good-will of his 
constituents. Lincoln was urged by those who 
were opposed to Popular Sovereignty to reply ; 
he did so in a w^onderful speech that quite 
overcame the effects Mr. Douglas had pro- 
duced. 

Lincoln's friends were so satisfied with his 
speech that they induced him to follow up 
Douglas on a tour of the State, and after the 
latter had made an address in a town to 
answer him. Mr. Douglas was well informed, 
a keen thinker, and a brilliant speaker. He 
was very small in stature, but he had so much 



POLITICAL SUCCESS. 339 

power in argument that he was called the 
"Little Giant." 

This man had rarely found his equal in 
debate, but now he found himself more than 
matched. He told Mr. Lincoln that he had 
given more trouble on this question than the 
entire United States Senate. He said that if 
Lincoln would withdraw from the field and 
make no more speeches he, too, would stop. 

They did not come to this agreement, how- 
ever, until after the Lincoln-Douglas debates 
had attracted widespread attention, and Lin- 
coln had spoken words that were not to be 
forgotten lightly by those who heard or read 
them. Lincoln was elected to the Legislature 
after this, but he resigned that he might better 
work for the United States Senatorship, which 
he greatly desired. He was, however, disap- 
pointed in his hope of being made senator 
in 1855.. 

On the twenty-ninth of May, 1856, he went 
to Bloomington, Illinois, to attend a convention 
held for the purpose of organizing a new 
political party. Whigs were there, men of the 



340 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

Free Soil party were there, conservative Aboli- 
tionists and Anti-slavery Democrats were there. 
Together they brought into being the great 
Republican party. 

After many eloquent speeches had been 
heard a cry for Lincoln arose. He made his 
way to the front of the room. "Take the 
platform," shouted the people. He began 
simply and slowly, almost hesitatingly, but as 
he spoke he warmed to his subject. He 
straightened his stooping shoulders and seemed 
to tower even above his usual height. He 
seemed inspired. The sympathy of his audi- 
ence carried him away. 

He forgot to be cautious. He spoke the 
thoughts that had been lying unuttered in his 
heart and in theirs. His bold words so moved 
the people that even the reporters forgot their 
duty in the enthusiasm of the hour, and the 
speech has been known as the "lost speech." 

One man in the audience said, " It paralleled 
or exceeded the scene in Revolutionary Vir- 
ginia of eighty-one years before when Patrick 
Henry invoked death if liberty could not be 



POLITICAL SUCCESS. 34 1 

preserved, and said, 'After all, we must fight' " 
The new party nominated John C. Freemont 
for president, but it had not yet gained suffi- 
cient strength to carry an election, and the 
Democratic candidate, James Buchanan, was 
elected. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
A LEADER. 

An election of United States Senators 
occurred in 1858. Abraham Lincoln was 
chosen as the candidate of the Republicans of 
Illinois. At the close of the convention he 
delivered an address of which he afterward 
said that if all he had ever written or spoken 
except one lecture must be blotted out of 
existence, this one — the " last speech " — he 
would save from destruction. 

He had known for some time that he should 
be called upon to make the speech and he 
had prepared it carefully. He had read it to 
his political friends. They had warned him 
that it was unwise at this time to make so 
bold and plain a statement of his views. One 
paragraph in particular, they said, if delivered 
would certainly secure his defeat. 

But that was the very paragraph Lincoln 
342 



A LEADER. 343 

was determined to give to the world. Accord- 
ingly, in the old State House at Springfield, 
amid the disapproving silence of his friends, 
he spoke these memorable words : " * A house 
divided against itself cannot stand/ I believe 
this government cannot endure permanently 
half slave and half free. I do not expect the 
Union to be dissolved, I do not expect the 
house to fall, but I do expect it will cease to 
be divided. It will become all one thing or 
the other. Either the opponents of slavery 
will arrest the further spread of it, and place 
it where the public mind shall rest in the 
belief that it is in the course of ultimate ex- 
tinction, or its advocates will push it forward 
till it shall become alike lawful in all the 
States, old as well as new, North as well as 
South." 

Those who were most anxious to see elected 
to the United States Senate the man who had 
the courage to say this, were yet grieved that 
he had spoken ; they feared they were losing 
a senator ; they did not know they were gain- 
ing a president. 



344 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

Lincoln was so full of the truth and justness 
of his words that he could not regard them 
as fatal to his ambition for the Senate. He 
neglected his business and gave his best efforts 
to the campaign. During the months that 
followed he held seven debates with Douglas, 
made thirty-one speeches arranged for by the 
State committee, and many informal speeches. 

While Douglas was touring the State every 
possible provision for his comfort was made 
by his wealthy and influential friends: they 
invited him to their homes ; they put their 
carriages at his disposal ; the Illinois Central 
Railroad Company furnished him with a pri- 
vate car; prominent citizens in every town led 
the applause when he spoke. 

Lincoln had comparatively little support 
from the rich and powerful, and from that 
class he suffered many humiliating slights. 
Travel-worn and weary he made his way from 
place to place with only such help and encour- 
agement as came from the assurance that he 
was more and more making the people see 
this grave question as he saw it. 



A LEADER. 345 

When defeat came he wrote to a friend : '* I 
am glad I made the race. It gave me a 
hearing on the great and durable questions 
of the age which I could have had in no other 
way ; and, though I now sink out of view and 
shall be forgotten, I believe I have made some 
marks which will tell for the cause of liberty 
long after I am gone." 

Abraham Lincoln's efforts were not lost. 
His words had not fallen on dead ears. His 
name was becoming a familiar one in all parts 
of the country. In October, 1859, he accepted 
an invitation to speak in New York City some 
time in the winter. As he was but, personally, 
slightly known in the East, he prepared him- 
self with great care for his first appearance in 
New York. 

His plan was to take for his text the words 
of his rival, Stephen A. Douglas, *' Our fathers, 
when they framed the government under which 
we live, understood this question just as well, 
and even better, than we do now," and to show 
that those who framed the government under 
which we live did not forbid the Federal 



34^ ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

government to control slavery in the Federal 
territory. 

On the twenty-seventh of February, i860, 
he stood on the platform of Cooper Institute, 
before a great assembly of highly educated, 
cultivated men and women. For a moment, 
as he looked into the hundreds of critical 
faces before him, he felt very conscious of the 
six feet four inches of his angular, uncouth 
frame. He was aware that his ill-fitting coat 
had not been improved by its journey in a 
carpet-bag, he realized that his collar would 
not stay down, and that one sleeve pulled up 
whenever he lifted his arm. 

He could hear his own voice and knew it 
was high and piercing, but gradually he for- 
got all those small things and remembered 
only the message he had to deliver. And 
those eastern people who had, many of 
them, come to criticise, or out of curiosity 
to see what the far-famed ''Honest Abe" 
was like, to be entertained with his eccen- 
tricities and funny stories, found themselves, 
instead, thinking very hard as their minds 



I 



A LEADER. 347 

grasped the truths he hurled at them and 
worked with his to inevitable conclusions. 

And when he took up the moral side of the 
question and spoke of the terrible wrong and 
injustice of slavery, there was not one in the 
audience whose heart was not stirred. All 
realized that they were listening to a great 
and earnest man. 

The next day the New York papers said 
that never in the history of the city had a 
speaker so captivated a New York audience 
on his first appearance. It was, indeed, a 
triumph for this man whose only schooling 
had been the rough school of life on the 
frontier. Later he made several other suc- 
cessful speeches in New England. 

People now recognized him as one of the 
leaders of the Republican party, and there 
was talk of his being nominated for the 
presidency. 

In May the Republicans of Illinois held a 
convention at Decatur to decide upon the man 
for whom their delegates to the National Con- 
vention should vote. There could be little 



348 ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 

doubt of the place Lincoln held in their 
esteem. 

While the convention was in session Lin- 
coln's cousin, John Hanks, walked into the 
hall with a weather-worn black walnut fence- 
rail on either shoulder. All knew what it 
meant. These were two of the rails Abe Lin- 
coln had split for his father in 1830. They 
stood for hard labor, but honorable, free labor. 
They were more eloquent than words. 

A sense of how good and great a thing it 
is for a man to be able to work for himself, 
and to cut and hew his destiny according to his 
own ability and will, swept over that audience 
of men who believed that slavery was harm- 
ful to the man who obliged another to do his 
work, as well as to the man obliged to work 
against his will. 

The enthusiasm roused there spread over 
the State and over the nation, and when, a 
week later, the National Republican Conven- 
tion was held at Chicago, Lincoln was one of 
the two leading candidates for the nomination. 
The Republican party had become one of the 



A LEADER. 349 

two great political parties of the country, and 
the public waited with breathless anxiety to 
learn what happened in the great convention 
hall or wigwam, as the hall was named. 

The eastern people and many western men 
favored the nomination of William H. Seward, 
a scholarly, able man, but with each ballot 
taken at Chicago it became more and more 
evident that Lincoln would be the choice of 
the convention — and when at length the can- 
non on the top of the wigwam boomed 
over the prairies, it was to announce this 
triumph. 

While the excitement was going on in 
Chicago, Lincoln sat in a large arm-chair in a 
newspaper office in Springfield. When word 
came of his nomination he strode off toward 
home, as he said, '' to tell a little woman down 
street the news." 

The campaign of i860 was conducted with 
intense feeling. The Democratic party had 
divided and had in the field two candidates, 
Lincoln's rival in debate, Douglas, and 
John C. Breckinbridge. This division of the 



350 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

Opposing party gave the Republicans hope. 
Nor was their hope in vain. In November, 
i860, Abraham Lincoln was elected. 

On the eleventh of February, 1861, the 
presidential party left Springfield for Wash- 
ington. In spite of a severe storm a large 
crowd gathered at the station to see the 
president-elect start on his journey. Mr. Lin- 
coln was touched by their evident affection ; 
he found it a hard matter to say farewell to 
his old friends; he had made his stepmother 
a good-bye visit and had spent a few days in 
New Salem. 

Some way the poor plain people, so closely 
associated with his boyhood and early man- 
hood, seemed very precious now, that he was 
leaving them — perhaps forever. As he stood 
on the rear platform, looking into the familiar 
friendly faces, he was oppressed with a deep 
sadness. He spoke a few words of affectionate 
farewell and then started on his way, " to 
assume a task more difficult than that which 
devolved upon Washington." 



CHAPTER IX. 
THE PRESIDENT. 

The outlook had in it nothing of cheer for 
President Lincoln. The Southern States were 
united in rebellion against the North; the 
North was divided into factions, bitterly op- 
posed to each other; disloyalty and lack of 
confidence were general. The conservative 
citizens of the North were wailing, ** Let the 
South keep their slaves and carry them where 
they will. Peace and union at any price !" 

The over-zealous were urging war. The 
nations of the earth waited the outcome like 
expectant birds of prey. The grim specter of 
war seemed brooding over the country, and 
the darkness of the shadow of death was upon 
its people. Lincoln was deeply depressed, but 
resolute. He saw his duty clearly. 

He did not believe it was to rule the people, 
but to rule for them. As he had believed in 

351 



352 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

the Mexican War, he still believed. Change 
in point of view had not altered his faith in 
the sovereignty of the people. Feeling so, it 
was hard for him to face the many evidences 
of distrust and ill-will that his countrymen 
entertained toward him. 

But they were too plain to escape him. 
Threats were even made against his life, and 
many believed he would never be inaugurated. 
Plots were made for his destruction, but they 
were discovered and he reached Washington 
in safety. There he was guarded by soldiers. 

The fourth of March was cold and dreary. 
The people who gathered near the capitol to 
witness the inaugural ceremony were silent 
and grave. The president-elect was treated 
with cold courtesy by men who made it clear 
that they considered him less worthy than 
themselves. The vanquished Douglas, who 
knew his worth, sought to make him feel at 
ease. It was he who came forward when 
Lincoln was looking about for a place for his 
hat, and held it while the latter was reading 
his address. 



THE PRESIDENT. 353 

Lincoln read in a high penetrating voice 
that was heard at a great distance. His words 
were wise and strong. He said, in part: 

" In view of the constitution and the laws, 
the union is unbroken ; and to the extent of 
my abihty I shall take care, as the constitution 
itself expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws 
of the Union be faithfully executed in all the 
States. In doing this there needs to be no 
bloodshed or violence ; and there shall be 
none, unless it be forced upon the national 
authority. In your hands, my dissatisfied 
fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the 
momentous issue of civil war. 

**The government will not assail you. You 
can have no conflict without being yourselves 
the aggressors. You have no oath registered 
in heaven to destroy the government, while I 
shall have the most solemn one to preserve, 
protect, and defend it. We are not enemies, 
but friends. We must not be enemies. 
Though passion may have strained, it must 
not break, our bonds of affection." 

But wise words could avail little. A time 
23 



354 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

of trial and terror had come to the nation. 
When things go wrong men want to blame 
some one. Now it was the chief executive 
who had to endure the general condemnation. 
Men did not hesitate to call him incompetent, 
inert, indifferent He did not shield himself 
in an armor of formality. His simplicity, his 
easy-going friendliness, and apparent lack of 
diplomacy invited frankness, and he received 
censure and slight from party leaders who 
thought themselves his superiors. 

Unmoved by denunciation, confident of the 
wisdom of his policy, slowly but surely he 
worked out his great plan to unite the North 
and to strengthen the Federal cause in the 
border States. He spared himself no pains; 
day after day he toiled in the executive office 
over the hard task of ''balancing things." 

He denied no one who wished to see him, 
and even the disappointed office-seeker went 
home his friend. It made him sick at heart 
that men should show such greed for office at 
such a time, but he concealed this, and by 
personal friendliness and a wise distribution 



THE PRESIDENT. 355 

of offices did much to conciliate opponents 
and to reconcile hostile factions. 

Men of all political beliefs sought to in- 
fluence the new president. ''Declare war," 
dictated many, thinking they knew better than 
he. He knew that the people did not yet feel 
the necessity of war. Let the South take the 
first step — then the people of the North would 
rise of their own will to defend the union. 

It was the firing on Sumpter that proclaimed 
war, not the president of these United States — 
his call to arms was but the echo of that 
cannon-roar that roused the nation. The 
answer came not reluctantly, but eagerly: 

" We are coming, father Abraham, 
Three hundred thousand strong." 

The Abolitionists insisted, " Make this a war 
for freedom. Emancipate the slaves." The 
man who had carried in his great, freedom- 
loving heart the cause of the slave from his 
early youth, who had looked forward to the 
crowning event of the age, found such impor- 
tunity hard to resist. But the strength of his 



356 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

personal wish in the matter made him slow to 
act lest it might blind him to the wish of ** My 
rightful masters, the American people." 

He said in a republic one man could not 
free the slaves. It must be the people's act. 
In their own good time they would demand 
it. Till then such a measure would result 
only in evil to the Union cause, in disaffect- 
ing northern men of southern sympathies 
and hopelessly alienating the border States. 

Emancipation must not come till it would 
help, not harm, the Union. It was his old 
habit, before the jury, of waiving all side issues 
and firmly and persistently holding to the 
main one. But when the people came to look 
upon the freedom of the slave as a necessary 
step to crush rebellion and re-establish peace, 
when they came to recognize in the fire and 
bloodshed of this desolating war the fruit of 
the great evil, emancipation became their plea. 

Then, indeed, their responsive representa- 
tive was not slow with his proclamation. Not- 
withstanding the stimulus of this act, the war 
tugged bitterly on with its awful balance of 



THE PRESIDENT. 357 

victory and defeat. In all his anxiety for the 
ends he desired, Lincoln never became indif- 
ferent or hardened to the heroism and sorrow 
that the battles fought to win them cost. 

He ever had a father's care for the boys in 
blue and a father's proud sorrow for those who 
fell. Few can read without a thrill of patriot- 
ism the words he spoke at the dedication of 
the Gettysburg cemetery : '' Fourscore and 
seven years ago our fathers brought forth on 
this continent a new nation, conceived in 
liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that 
all men are created equal. 

*' Now we are engaged in a great civil war, 
testing whether that nation or any nation, 
so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. 
We are met on a great battlefield of that 
war. We have come to dedicate a portion of 
that field as a final resting-place for those who 
here gave their lives that that nation might 
live. It is altogether fitting and proper that 
we should do this. 

" But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, 
we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow, this 



358 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

ground. The brave men, living and dead, who 
struggled here have consecrated it far above 
our poor power to add or detract. The world 
will little note nor long remember what we 
say here, but it can never forget what they 
did here. 

" It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedi- 
cated here to the unfinished work which they 
who fought here have thus far so nobly 
advanced. It is, rather, for us to be here dedi- 
cated to the great task remaining before us — 
that from these honored dead we take increased 
devotion to that cause for which they gave the 
last full measure of devotion ; that we here 
highly resolve that these dead shall not have 
died in vain ; that this nation, under God, shall 
have a new birth of freedom ; and that govern- 
ment of the people, by the people, and for the 
people shall not perish from the face of the 
earth." 

But it was not only in public that this great 
president paid tribute to the private soldier. 
Here is a letter he wrote to a woman he did 
not know whose sons had fallen in battle: 



"Mrs. Bixby, 
" Dear Madam : 



THE PRESIDENT. 359 

** Executive Mansion, Washington, 
"November 21, 1864. 



" I have been shown in the files of the War Department a 
statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you 
are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the 
field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any 
words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the 
grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from 
tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the 
thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our 
heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereave- 
ment, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved 
and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have 
laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. 

" Yours, very sincerely and respectfully, 
• ' Abraham Lincoln. ' ' 

The man who wrote this did not love war. 
Yet such was his strength of purpose that 
when the very men who had once rebuked 
his slowness, whose zeal had demanded, '* Make 
war," " Emancipate the slaves," " On to Rich- 
mond," before his wisdom dared, were clamor- 
ing for peace, he was writing in his second 
inaugural address: 



360 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

" Fondly do we hope and fervently do we 
pray that this mighty scourge of war may 
speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it 
continue until all the wealth piled up by the 
bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of 
unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every 
drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be 
paid by another drawn with the sword, as was 
said, 'the judgments of the Lord are true 
and righteous altogether.' " 

Indeed, as General Grant had said, Lincoln's 
re-election was a victory worth more to the 
country than a battle won. Soon peace re- 
turned to the nation, and Lincoln had begun — 
" with malice toward none ; with charity for 
all ; with firmness in the right — to bind up the 
nation's wounds; to care for him who had 
borne the battle, and for his widow, and his 
orphan — to do all which might achieve and 
cherish a just and lasting peace among our- 
selves, and with all nations" — when he was 
taken from his people by the bullet of an 
assassin, and the national rejoicing was hushed 
by a deep sense df grief. 



THE PRESIDENT. 361 

This sense of personal loss in the midst of 
triumph, that thousands of men, women, and 
children felt, has been expressed in a noble 
poem by Walt Whitman : 

" O captain ! my captain ! our fearful trip is done, 
The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won. 
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting. 
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring ; 

But O heart ! heart ! heart ! 

O the bleeding drops of red. 

Where on the deck my captain lies, 

Fallen cold and dead. 

" O captain ! my captain ! rise up and hear the bells ; 

Rise up — for you the flag is flung — for you the bugle thrills. 

For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths — for you the shores 

a-crowding, 
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning ; 

Here captain ! dear father ! 

This arm beneath your head ! 
It is some dream that on the deck, 
You've fallen cold and dead. 



362 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

" My captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, 
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will, 
The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and 

done. 
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won ; 

Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells ! 

But I with mournful tread. 

Walk the deck my captain hes, 

Fallen cold and dead." 

From Leaves of GrasSy by Walt WHITMAN, 

By courtesy of Small, Maynard & Co., Publishers, Boston, Mass. 



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